Sakara Ten'ou
by Serenity-Hermione Angel
Summary: Hakura leaves the senshi after finding out that she's pregnant. Full summary inside. CHAPTERS HAVE BEEN EDITED, AGAIN! 12/4/09!
1. Powers

Chapter 3: The senshi and the youma

Sakara Ten'ou

Author- Serenity-Hermione Angel

Genre- General, I guess.

Rating- Can't possibly go above K, unless I start swearing.

Summary- Haruka suddenly leaves Japan without a single word to anyone, not even Michiru. Fourteen years later she returns with a secret.

Authors Note: Yes, my dear friends, this story has hopped onto the 'What I'm editing now' train. It's in desperate need! ALSO, THIS WAS EDITED AS OF 7/26/08.

Chapter 1: Powers

* * *

Haruka took one last look at her beloved Michiru sleeping peacefully in their bed before turning her heel, walking as silently as possible from their apartment. She locked the door and slid her key under the door, knowing that she'd never need it again. She picked up her small suitcases and walked down the hall to the elevator, not allowing a single tear to fall until she exited the complex. She hailed a cab and ordered the driver to go to the airport.

"One way flight or round trip?" a woman asked Haruka as she stood in the quiet airport, hardly anyone occupying it at the late hour of three in the morning.

"One way," Haruka replied simply. The woman handed her her ticket and pointed out her gate. Haruka made her way there silently, waiting in that same silence for an hour until the flight was bordered and left. As the plane took off, Haruka wiped a single tear from her cheek. "I'm so sorry, Michiru," she whispered, closing the shade and turning her head away from the window that reminded her of what she was leaving behind.

But Haruka knew that there was no other choice.

* * *

14 Years Later

* * *

"Momma, I'm home!" the voice of fourteen-year-old Sarah Taylor called out as she opened the door to her home. She kicked her shoes off and laid her backpack and purse on the floor by the door. "Hey Mom."

"Hey sweetie. How was school?" Haruka Ten'ou, or rather Amara Taylor asked.

"Torture. How can they except us to pay attention when it's_ this_ nice outside?" Sarah asked, gesturing to the window. It was indeed a beautiful day in sunny Orlando, Florida.

"You need to focus, Sarah," Amara said.

"I know, Mom, I know," Sarah replied with a roll of her sapphire eyes. It was then that she noticed the papers spread across her kitchen table. "What are you working on?"

"Oh, I'm researching. Ever since I left those jerks, I need someone else to sponsor me," Amara replied, gesturing to the mess.

When Haruka had arrived in America, she instantly changed her name to something more American and less like that of her old name so that it wouldn't be possible for the senshi, or Michiru, to track her down. She had decided to let her hair grow past her shoulders and tried the whole working in an office thing after Sarah was born but soon realized that nothing made her happier than racing. So when Sarah was four, she left her boring office job and went off to become a champion racer. She excelled in cars, bikes, and running, alternating them when she started to become too well known in fear that the senshi might see this, even across the world. Recently, she had left the sponsor of her racecar career, sick of them always hitting on her.

"Oh, Mom, I need you to sign this," Sarah said. She hesitantly held out the white piece of paper and chewed her lip as she watched her mother read it.

"Detention? Again?" Amara sighed. "For being disruptive in class. Sarah, what did you do?"

"Nothing! Melissa and I were just talking quietly and Mr. Prince got all pissy with us. It's so unfair, too, because Greg and Tommy were talking and they didn't get in trouble! I swear that evil man is sexist or something," Sarah huffed.

Amara nodded. This was the third time Sarah had been handed a detention when a boy had been talking or misbehaving and he had not gotten in any trouble. "I'll call Melissa's mom and we will go in and talk to him for you, okay?"

"Thank Mom," Sarah responded. She gave a little wave before making her way up the stairs to her bedroom.

Sarah had never thought herself to be spoiled, but that was because all of her friends were just as privileged as she. Her bed was a loft with a queen sized bed, a rather impressive stereo system under it. There was also a desk under her bed, her laptop sitting on it. Across from her bed was a navy love seat, a short but fat bookcase next to that. A window separated the bookcase from a walk-in closet that was filled with everything from short skirts and halters to baggy jeans and band tees. The closet door was covered with overlapping posters dating as far back as seven years ago. She then had a whole area dedicated to her art which was located by the corner that was dedicated to her two cats, Stella and Comet.

"Hey babies," Sarah greeted when she entered. Black and white Stella merely blinked at her from her cat bed while the white Comet with a yellow tail got up to greet her. "Sleep all day?" Sarah asked with a smile as the cat rubbed against her leg. He meowed in reply and Sarah laughed. "I wish I could." It was then that she heard her cell phone ringing from downstairs.

"Sarah, phone!" Amara shouted up to her daughter.

"I'm coming!" Sarah responded as she sprinted down the stairs at the pace that could only come from running cross country and track. "Hello?" Sarah asked breathlessly when she finally reached her phone.

"Hey Sarah! Wanna ride bikes? It's perfect out for that!" Sarah's cheery friend Melissa asked.

"Umm…sure. Sounds like fun. I'll meet you at the park, okay?" Sarah asked.

"Sure. See you then," Melissa responded. They bid each other goodbye and hung up.

"Hey Mom, can I go riding with Melissa?" Sarah called.

"Sure thing, baby. Just make sure you're home in time for dinner," Amara replied.

"Thanks!" Sarah called before stuffing her phone in her pocket and heading out the door. As she approached her mountain bike, she pulled her long gold hair into a ponytail. She put her helmet on and mounted her navy bike. She checked the street before speeding out of the garage, feeling the usual thrill as her legs pumped her faster and faster. It took her mere minutes to reach the park and she was unsurprised that Melissa wasn't there yet. "I've got to get that girl in shape," Sarah muttered.

"How not surprising. You always get here first," Melissa said when she arrived. "How long?"

"Only five minutes," Sarah replied with a shrug.

"Eh. It's been worse," Melissa replied. They laughed and Sarah got back on her bike. They followed the bike trail through the park before veering off it and venturing down the dirt paths that had been worn down by years of kids exploring. They stopped after a good half hour, Melissa proclaiming that she was too exhausted to ride further.

"Seriously Melissa, you need to get more exercise," Sarah said. She was panting but otherwise alright.

"I do! I just don't do as much cardio as you do. Sorry that we all can't be born with freakish speed," Melissa replied with a roll of her eyes. She took a swig of her water and offered it to her friend.

"It's not freakish," Sarah muttered, stung by the words.

"Don't be like that, Sarah. You're way faster than anyone I've ever met. It's a gift, not a curse," Melissa said. "Here, drink this. Even you need to keep hydrated."

"Thanks," Sarah said. She had tipped her head back when they heard a scream.

"What the heck was that?" Melissa asked.

"Probably some stupid kids," Sarah replied. She shrugged the manner off and went to take another drink. Once more, there was a scream. But this time, it was not alone.

"There's no way that's just a bunch of kids," Melissa said. She gripped her handlebars nervously. "What do you think is going on?"

"It's probably nothing," Sarah said. "You need to stop watching so many movies."

"Let's head back a different way. I don't trust going that way," Melissa insisted.

"Stop being such a chicken." Sarah rolled her eyes and took off in the way that they had come.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Melissa cried out, scrambling to get back onto her bike and turn it around. She sped after her friend, her calves burning in the effort to match the pace of her naturally faster friend. She had almost caught up when she heard more screams. "Sarah, I think something is going on!"

"Stop that," Sarah called back, annoyed. As she came to the clearing, she skidded to a halt. There, in front of her disbelieving face, was a humongous monster-type thing, attacking people.

"Oh. My. God," Melissa gasped when she caught up.

"This—I can't believe this," Sarah whispered.

Melissa whimpered in fear. "What should we do?"

"Here, I have an idea," Sarah said. She took off her helmet and dismounted her bike.

"Are you psycho?" Melissa nearly screamed.

"No. Now stop whining and hold my bike," Sarah insisted.

"No way! I'm not letting you walk up to that thing. We don't even know what it is," Melissa replied.

"Who cares? It's attacking innocent people! It has to be stopped," Sarah said. She held her chin high and ran up to the monster.

"Sarah!" Melissa cried out desperately.

But Sarah didn't hear her. She didn't understand why, but she was driven to stop this hideous beast. When she approached the monster, she bound up and high kicked it in it's face. The monster growled at the contact and dropped the victims that it had just been terrorizing. Sarah landed with ease and held her fists up, ready for a fight. "Come and get me, ugly," Sarah challenged. It dogged her, but she jumped backwards just in time, watching with delight as it fell. "Is that all you got? Oh please!" She said, jumping up and kicking it once more.

"What—what is that on her forehead?" Melissa wondered out loud as she noticed something glowing through her friend's gold bangs. When Sarah turned her head, Melissa noticed with a gasp that it resembled the sign of Uranus and that it was navy blue. Suddenly, there was a flash of blue and Sarah no longer stood there wearing jean shorts and a green tank top. Instead she was dressed in a most peculiar fashion.

Sarah was dressed in a white leotard with sailor flaps on it the color of navy blue, gold striping through it twice. Where the flaps met was a bow that was navy blue and gold, the ribbons long. In the middle of the bow was a white brooch lined with gold shaped like a heart, a blue Uranus symbol in the middle. The leotard v-ed into a short navy skirt with a similar bow in the back and a layer of white under the skirt. On her feet were boots that reached mid-calf and around her neck was a thin double choker of gold. She had gloves on that went to her elbow, three navy rings at the top. Her hair went from messy low ponytail to a neat high ponytail, tied with a gold ribbon. Her forehead still bore the sigh of Uranus, still shining in all its glory.

"Sarah?" Melissa whispered in her amazement. Sarah held out her hands and in it appeared a large sword with a gold and jeweled hilt.

"Space Sword Blaster!" Sarah cried out. In an instant, the monster was gone and Sarah stood there, sword at her side, looking at the place where the monster had once been. The victims all stared in amazement at their savoir, confused but nevertheless grateful. Sarah merely looked around, confused. She had no idea what had just happened, or where her clothes had gone.

"Sarah! What was that?" Melissa cried out, running to her best friend.

Sarah shook her head. "I—I have no idea. I felt this sudden warmth and the next thing I knew, I was wearing this and knew exactly what to say to defeat that thing."

"We'd better get going. Looks like people are going to investigate and I don't think we're very well equipped to answer any questions," Melissa suggested.

"Good point. Let's move," Sarah replied. She mounted her bike and sped off, this time much faster than ever. Melissa struggled to keep up, although it wasn't her lack of leg muscles that kept her back: it was her amazement at her best friend. She was riding faster than ever in heels, a skirt, and holding a mysterious sword. It was simply baffling.

"Sarah, do you have any idea what happened?" Melissa asked as they lay on Sarah's front lawn. When Melissa had finally caught up, Sarah looked at her so confused and frightened that they simply set their bikes down and lay in the grass. Sarah had taken to examining the sword while Melissa tried to digest what she had just seen. It still seemed too surreal. They had been silent for nearly ten minutes when Melissa spoke.

"I really don't know. It was the weirdest thing I've ever felt," Sarah insisted.

"It was the weirdest thing I've ever _seen_," Melissa added.

"What should I tell my mom when I walk in wearing this?" Sarah asked, gesturing to the strange outfit.

"I don't know what to say," Melissa replied.

Sarah rolled to her side and looked at her best friend. "Lissa, promise me that you'll never tell anyone about this, okay?"

"Why?" Melissa asked, turned her head to look at her friend.

"I don't think this is the type of thing that one goes around talking about," Sarah replied.

"Oh. Well, you know you can count of me to keep this a secret. But what about everyone else who saw you?" Melissa asked.

"I didn't recognize any of them and I doubt they would recognize me. I'm just another blonde in Florida named Sarah. There has to be hundreds of girls just like me in our city," Sarah replied.

"Good point." Melissa stood up. She pulled some grass from her raven hair and then smiled uneasily. "I should probably head home. It's getting late."

"Yeah, it is," Sarah agreed. She stood and hugged Melissa. "No one?"

"Never," Melissa replied.

"Okay. Love ya," Sarah said as Melissa went to her bike.

"Love ya too. And be careful with that sword. It looks a bit dangerous," Melissa said before riding off.

"Hey honey. Have fun?" Amara called from the kitchen.

"Umm…I guess," Sarah replied cautiously. She made her way into the kitchen and looked nervously to her mother. "Mom, what happened to me?"

Amara nearly dropped the plate she had been holding when she took in the sight of her daughter. "Oh Kami-san," she muttered, unconsciously slipping into Japanese.

"What?" Sarah asked.

"I—it's just—Sarah, what happened?" Amara asked.

Sarah gave her mother a quick version of the story, although she spared no details about the fight with the monster and her mysterious transformation. When she finished, she scanned her mother's face for a sign of something. But Amara had gone stoic and abruptly hard to read. They stood in silence before Amara took a deep breath and spoke.

"Sarah, there's something I need to tell you. You'd better go sit in the living room," Amara said. It was when Sarah turned that Amara caught sight of what she had been clutching. "Wait, what is that?"

"The sword I told you about," Sarah replied. She held it out for her mother to take.

When Amara touched it, she felt a surge of emotions attack her. It was brief but strong. She clutched the familiar hilt and held it to her chest. "My friend," she whispered.

"Mom?" Sarah asked, raising her eyebrow in confusion.

"Go sit down," Amara said softly.

Sarah made her way into their living room and sat down on the couch, tucking her booted feet under her. She had tried to take the shoes off when she got into the house but was frustrated when she noticed that they wouldn't budge. She watched as her mother came to sit on the opposite side of the couch and waited for what she assumed was going to be a long story.

"Now I want you to remain calm and not interrupt me, no matter how crazy this sounds. I promise you that everything will become clearer once I'm done," Amara said.

"Alright," Sarah agreed.

"For starters, I should confess one thing to you: my name is not Amara Taylor, and your name is not Sarah Taylor. My name is truly Haruka Ten'ou and I was born and raised in Japan. But that is also not my origin. You see, I was originally born on Uranus thousands of year ago during an era known as the Silver Millennium. Each planet had a kingdom; yes, dear, life was possible on all planets in these very beautiful and wondrous contained atmospheres. I was actually born the princess of Uranus, believe it or not. And I was born with special powers, powers very much like the ones you demonstrated tonight. During my life as the princess of Uranus, my main focus was protecting the queen of the universe, Queen Serenity of the Moon Kingdom, and her family. There was a senshi, which is what you are now, from each planet. There were the inner senshi, the closet protectors of the moon and Serenity's closet friends. They consisted of Mercury, Mars, Venus, and Jupiter. Then there were the outer senshi, which included Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, and my very own Uranus, and we were protectors for our galaxy and our queen. Life was wonderful for all of us until an evil force named Queen Matellia invaded the Milky Way and threatened our peace. She corrupted the soldiers on Earth and there was this horrible battle that ended in the death of Serenity's own daughter and our future queen.

"It was decided that we would all be sent into the future to live out better lives, lives in which the princess would not die and would able to live a full and happy life. I was reincarnated as the woman you see before you, your mother. I grew up lonely until I met a wonderful woman named Michiru. She was my soul mate and little did I know that our love ran farther than what we realized. It wasn't until after our first transformation that we learned of our true origins. You see, we had been lovers before, when we were princesses. Anyways, after our first transformation, we began to fight monsters much like the one you fought today together. Soon we found Sailor Pluto and she led us to the rest of the senshi, our long-lost friends. We were undefeatable and quite the sight to see. We led secret lives, posing as ordinary school girls when we were all really quite capable of so much more.

"Now, we had just defeated our largest enemy, a horrible woman named Galaxia, when something happened to me. I became pregnant with you and I knew I had to leave my friends. There was no way I could be a senshi if I was pregnant and I wasn't about to stand around and watch my friends and loved ones fight when I was useless, so I left. I came here and gave birth to you, and you pretty much know the story from there."

Sarah's voice was toneless as she asked what her birth name was.

"Sakara Ten'ou," Amara replied simply.

Sarah let that register before speaking. "So, let me get this straight: you're the reincarnation of a princess from a couple thousand years ago who fought monsters in Japan?"

"That sounds about right," Amara replied cautiously.

Sarah shook her head. "You're too stressed, Mom. You need some rest."

"Sarah, you can't possibly tell me that you don't believe me?" Amara asked. She was shocked. How could her daughter doubt her when the evidence of her story was on her own body?

"What do you expect me to believe?" Sarah asked. "You just told me the craziest story I've ever heard, and that's pretty hard because I've been using the internet for years."

"How can you not believe me? Do you have any other explanation for what happened to you today?" Amara asked.

"Hallucination? Maybe I'm dreaming. Who knows! All I know is that what you just said is nothing short of crazy," Sarah responded heatedly.

"Sarah! I told you the whole truth. I swear!" Amara said.

"Oh yeah? Prove it. I want you to prove to me that what you said wasn't just some cock-and-bull story meant to mask something else," Sarah challenged.

"Fine," Amara snapped. She got up and left the room. Moments later, she returned holding her old henshin stick in her hand. "Uranus Power, Make Up!"

Sarah watched, amazed, as her mother transformed right before her eyes. Her hair even shortened itself to its old length, giving Sarah the proper look at who her mother had once been. When the transformation was finished, Amara looked at her daughter pointedly, as if daring her to challenge her.

"Okay, now I know I'm hallucinating," Sarah insisted in a whisper.

"Sarah, come here," Amara demanded. "If you don't believe what I told you, maybe you'll believe what you can see for yourself."

Slowly, Sarah rose from the couch and went to stand in front of her mother. Amara reached forward and touched her gloved hand to Sarah's mark. Suddenly, Sarah was flooded with images. They were fast yet slow, blurry yet clear, loud yet quite. She saw everything that her mother had described, from her senshi training as a young princess to the day she left her lover. When Sarah had seen it all, Amara took a step back and looked down at her daughter with worry.

"You need to give me time to digest this, you know. This is a bit overwhelming for a fourteen-year-old girl," Sarah said.

Amara smiled at that. "If it makes you feel any better, five fourteen-year-old girls knew your exact feelings not too long ago, themselves. Sailor Venus, the blonde with the bow you saw, found out about her powers before all of the other girls and fought alone in London with only her cat guardian to help her out. At least you have me, a veteran senshi, to help you."

"I suppose that's a plus," Sarah said cautiously.

"Oh, that's the timer," Amara closed her eyes and was once again a less-than-ordinary housewife.

"Wait, Mom! How do I get out of this?" Sarah asked.

"Just will yourself to be back into your normal clothes. It's get easier the more you do it," Amara instructed.

Sarah closed her eyes and felt her body sink back into her own familiar clothes. She sighed with relief that she could finally take off her shoes and she did such with haste. When she was done, she went back into the kitchen.

"Mom?" Sarah asked.

"Yes?" Amara replied, focusing on dinner.

"Why didn't you tell me any of this before?" Sarah asked.

Amara paused in her work. "I suppose I didn't think it was necessary. I never dreamed that you would show signs of being a senshi and I figured that we would never go back to Japan, so what was the point?"

"Then why did you give me a Japanese name?" Sarah asked.

Amara shrugged. "I was still very new to this country when I had you. I didn't even start calling you Sarah until you were two."

"Oh." Sarah chewed on her lip before asking another question. "Is my father in Japan?"

"Yes, he is," Amara replied.

"Who is he?"

"It doesn't matter," Amara replied.

"Oh."

Amara chopped up some vegetables with a vengeance as she thought of Sarah's father: the man that had ruined her perfect life in Japan, her wonderful life with Michiru, and her budding career. _'On the other hand I did have my daughter. And I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world,'_ Amara thought, instantly feeling guilty for her previous thoughts. She loved Sarah with all her heart and never once regretted her decision to keep her. Her only regret was that she chickened out and left the girls and Michiru without any explanation. And even more so that she didn't return when she realized how silly it was that she left in the first place. Michiru wouldn't have loved her any less for what happened, but she couldn't help feeling how she did at the time. Leaving had been the only rational choice she could see in her mind and, looking back at it now, it was the stupidest_. 'Oh well, it doesn't matter now. What happened, happened,'_ Amara consoled herself.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Do you still love her?"

"Very much."

"Then why did you leave her? Why did you stay away?"

"One day, Sarah, you'll understand. Not today, because I think you've had too much information as it is, but one day," Amara promised. She tossed the veggies into the steamer and continued to cook her curry. "Could you set the table, sweetie?"

"Sure."

* * *

-End of chapter.

I don't know why I ended it that way, but I did. Also, I had no idea how this turned out. Frankly, it's 3AM and I decided that writing this would be fun, and little did I know how late I would be up doing this. I know this is the third time I've written this chapter, and it may have been a bit strong for a chapter, but I don't really mind. I'm glad that I finally gave Haruka a good story to tell her daughter and I didn't make them so angsty and bitchy this time. That's always a plus! Please review!!

-Serenity


	2. Home in Japan

Chapter 2

Thank you to everyone who has review so far. I'm sorry that I'm so sucky with updating lately. My life has just changed a lot since I started this story and being an adult it hard. This is dedicated to everyone still out there reading!

* * *

Home in Japan

The next week was an awkward one in the Taylor, or rather Ten'ou, household. Sarah was silent, spending all of her time in her room when she wasn't at school. She didn't even talk to her friends anymore. Melissa assumed it was because of what had happened and Sarah just let her assume that because, in truth, that was part of it. Amara, on the other hand, had spent the week secretly looking over what she considered to be her past: pictures of her friends and Michiru, letters, and just general little keepsakes that reminded her of the life that she had once lived. The only time the two women met up was when they ate their meals and when Amara went to make sure that Sarah was awake for school or in bed at the right time. It was on the ninth day that Sarah finally broke the streak.

"Mom?" she asked as she came into her mother's room.

Amara was sitting on her bed looking through an old scrapbook. Usagi had put it together a few weeks before Amara had found out about her baby and left them all. It was pictures of their group of friends as collected throughout the years. There were pictures of the inner senshi throughout all of their years as friends, pictures of just the outer senshi, pictures of duos, trios, and quartets, and even a few pictures of just Usagi and Mamoru, since Usagi had made the same album for all of the girls and Mamoru (although Mamoru had been granted a few extra pictures of himself and Usagi). There were pictures that were planned and some that were candid, some that brought up sweet memories and some that brought up sour. All in all, though, this was the greatest gift Amara had ever been given and she was grateful for it. It was almost as if Usagi had known that she would need something to remember them by. (Or, as she insisted, there was a sale on scrapbooking stuff and she just _had_ to make one for everyone)

"Yeah?" Amara asked softly.

Sarah walked across the room and crawled onto her mother's bed. She settled in next to her and looked at the pictures. "Even though I saw them briefly, I recognize all these people. They're your old friends, right?"

"Yes." Amara turned to a page that was a group shot and began naming people off, "Ami, Rei, Makoto, Minako, Usagi, Mamoru, Chibi-Usa, Hotaru, Setsuna, myself, and Michiru."

Sarah stared the longest at the right side where her mother and the woman named Michiru stood. Their body language had them inclined towards each other and there was no doubt that these two were once in love. There was a glint in their eyes that made it look as though they had a secret. Though it was hidden from the camera, they were without a doubt holding hands.

"She's so beautiful," Sarah commented. She had known for years that her mother was not at all interested in men and she didn't mind. "Whatever makes you happy, Mommy!" she had said when she was six.

"She is," Amara replied fondly.

"Wait. Why were you wearing boy clothes?" Sarah asked. She hadn't really taken in the apparel of the group, just their faces.

"My school didn't have a uniform in my size, so I just wore a boy's uniform. It didn't matter much to me, anyways. You know how I feel about skirts," Amara said.

Sarah laughed. She knew all too well how her mother felt about wearing any type of skirt or dress. But still, the image of her mother in her senshi uniform reminded her that her mother had given up her battle at least once before. "What about your uniform?"

"That's different. I had no say in the design in that and I'd never go against my foremothers to destroy it. Although I am please to see that it's always evolving itself," Amara said, remembering how different Sarah's had been from her own.

"How many senshi has there been throughout the years?" Sarah asked, further settling into the pillows.

Amara was pleased to see that Sarah was warming up to talking about senshi business. "It's impossible to say. I know that my mother was one, and her mother was one, and her mother was one. I know that there were always planetary eight senshi, although there were cases where there was a ninth, thanks to the rare Sailor Earth. We all know, of course, that we aren't the only senshi. Some families give birth to more than one senshi at a time and so they must wait until their powers appear to find out which is the most dominant senshi, or the one who will carry on the planet's name. Venus is quite famous for that, actually. And then there are the senshi whose powers are based on the stars, or the sun, or even the galaxy itself."

"I can't believe there is a history out there that no one really knows about," Sarah said.

"And it's strange to think that you belong to it too, huh?" Amara added.

"Yeah," Sarah replied. She went back to looking at the pictures. It was at that point that she came across a group shot featuring Seiya, Yaten, Taiki, ChibiChibi and the inner senshi. "Who are they?"

Amara rolled her eyes. "People that I'm glad are gone. This one," she pointed at Seiya with a decisive glare, "tried to destroy the future. Not intentionally, of course, but if he had succeeded, our future would have been greatly altered and this one," she pointed to Chibi-Usa on the opposite page, "would never exist."

"Whoa. Why's that?" Sarah asked, intrigued.

Amara laughed. "That's a story that I'm going to have to tell you another time. It's longer than the one I told you before."

"Oh. Alright," Sarah replied, slightly letdown. She went back into silent mode as she continued to flip through the pages. She asked questions now and then about whom a girl was or what was happening in the picture. She spent the most time looking at pictures of her mother and Michiru, although she also spent a good amount of time looking at the pictures of Usagi and Mamoru.

"Were these two a couple?" Sarah asked. When she turned the page, she saw a picture of them kissing and blushed. "I suppose so, huh?"

"Yes they were and still are. They're part of that long story. Let's just say that they're destined for one another," Amara said.

"He looks so much older then she is," Sarah said.

"He is. But he's perfect for her, so no one ever minded. No one that is, except for her father." Amara smiled at fond memories of silly stories.

"Would you care if I dated a guy older then me?" Sarah asked.

"No. Whatever makes you happy, baby," Amara replied, a loving mimic of her daughter's word eight years ago.

Sarah smiled and snuggled closer to her mother. "I've been thinking a lot lately and I think that we should go to Japan."

Amara started. "What?"

"Well, it's almost summer break and I figured that since you obviously miss it so much and you're not attached to any contracts right now that we could go on a trip. We could go visit with your friends and see your Michiru. Who knows, she may even come back with us. I just think it would be fun if I saw the place of the heritage and if your friends saw you again," Sarah offered.

Amara stared down in amazement at her daughter. "Are—are you sure this is something you want?"

"Positive. I want to support you through this, Mom. I really think it's time that you visit them," Sarah replied with confidence.

Amara crushed her daughter to her side and could feel the tears brimming. She was never one to giving in to tears, but at this moment she did not care. Her daughter was truly amazing. She kissed the side of Sarah's head and gave a small sigh of happiness. Soon, she'd see Michiru again. She would be home.

The next few weeks went by in a flash. Sarah had managed to pass all of her classes and avoid any other detentions while Amara busied herself with planning the trip. They decided that they would stay for a month, settling on a fancy hotel that Amara insisted was not very Japanese but Sarah insisted was very necessary. ("Those hole things are cool and all, but Comet and Stella would be so not happy in them," Sarah had used as an excuse). When it came time for them to leave, the house looked like they were preparing to move. Amara had had her bike sent ahead and Sarah had packed nearly her entire wardrobe. She thanked God for MP3 players and the convenience of laptops, the technologies having cut down her bulk of the luggage immensely. When Stella and Comet were in their crates and the neighbors reminded to water the lawn and plants, mother and daughter set off for Japan.

The plane ride was uneventful and bored Sarah to sleep. She had only lasted two hours before falling asleep, while Amara remained high wired the entire time. Her mind, and heart, was racing too much for her to find sleep during the long flight. She couldn't even read, finding that she was reading the same paragraph over and over again because of her distracted mind. When the plane landed, she bolted up and almost ran off the plane when she remembered her daughter, who was busy getting her bags together.

"Hayaku, Sakara," Amara said urgently as soon as it was time to get off the plane. Sarah looked at her mother blankly. It took a moment for Amara to realize that she had spoken in Japanese to her daughter. "Hurry, Sarah," she translated.

Sarah did as she was told and followed her mother through the crowd of passengers, most of whom were still gathering their effects. Amara thanked the crew of the plane in a strange and rushed mix between Japanese and American, Sarah sticking with the only language she knew when returning their farewells. She only had time to pause for a moment to give the cute, young flight attendant who had been checking her out the entire flight a flirtatious smile before Amara pulled her away, much to her chagrin.

The rest of the time that they were in the airport went by in a blur for Sarah. Amara used her long legs to her advantage as she moved through the crowd, Sarah thankful that she had inherited those same legs in order to keep up with her mother. Baggage claim had gone by quickly since most of their things had been sent ahead early to the hotel, so all they had needed to grab were the cats, who were all too happy to see their owners. There was a limo waiting for them when they exited the airport much to Sarah's relief. She had suggested the idea a few days before and had never heard back from her mother whether or not it had been taken into consideration. Sarah didn't like to think of herself as spoiled, but she refused to show up to one of the nicest hotels in Tokyo in a smelly old cab, and especially after such a long flight.

"How long until we get to the hotel?" Sarah asked as soon as they settled into the comfortable leather seats. Amara was busy looking out the window and chewing her lip in movements so small that had Sarah not spent her entire life with her mother she would have never noticed. "Mom? Why are you so nervous? We are just going to the hotel."

Amara turned to her daughter with a look that would make one believe that she had just realized that Sarah was there. "Nani?"

Luckily, Sarah had recognized this word. "Chill, Mom," she soothed. She laid her head on her mother's lap and sighed into the comfort surrounding her. She looked up at her mother and smiled reassuringly. "You'll be fine, Mom. Just don't think about it."

"Thank you, Sarah," Amara said. She leaned over and kissed her daughter's forehead. She decided to listen to her advice and relaxed into the cool upholstery. The ride was relatively short, although that did not stop mother or daughter from falling asleep. Only when the driver opened the door did Amara open her eyes. After shaking her daughter awake, the two women grabbed a cage, their smaller luggage, and made their way into the hotel.

"Ten'ou, Haruka," Amara said when she approached the front desk.

The clerk cheerfully greeted Amara and Sarah, speaking in rapid Japanese and smiling that frozen type of smile that comes from working too much. After a short conversation, the clerk handed over a few key cards and a bellboy approached to take what few luggages that they had with them. He escorted them to the elevator and the three of them stood in semi-awkward silence as the elevator climbed up to the top floor.

"Welcome home, babies," Sarah told the cats when they entered the room, letting them out of their crates.

Amara tipped the bellboy before seeing him to the door. Comet went to her straight away, purring in appreciation. Amara laughed at this and leaned over to pet the cat. "I bet it feel good for you to be out of there, huh boy?"

"This place is gorgeous, Mom. Sure we can't stay for more then a month?" Sarah asked as she wandered around the living room.

Amara laughed. "Well, if you want to sell the house back home, sure. This place is costing us a pretty penny. I think I had to use up your college fund," she teased.

Sarah laughed and went to one of the windows. "What a pretty view." She turned to her mother. "I'm going to go unpack. C'mon Stella, Comet."

Amara followed suit and made her way into the master bedroom. As per her request, all of her luggage had been left piled near the closet, the boxes and suitcases stacked neatly. Gingerly, Amara removed the top box and set it on the bed before unpacking all of the other boxes. When clothes, shoes, and toiletries were stored in their proper places, she turned her attention to the box. With gentle hands that few thought she could possess, she unpacked the box of her old effects. She placed about the room picture frames and trinkets from her old life in Japan, the objects instantly making her feel sick with nostalgia. The finishing touch was placing a dual picture frame on the nightstand, one that had a picture of herself and Michiru on one side and herself and Sarah on the other.

"The two women who mean the most to me," she mused quietly as she looked at the picture.

"Hungry?" Sarah asked a few moments later, standing in the doorway. She took a few steps into the room and looked around. "Very cozy. I think there is more personal stuff in here then there ever was in your room back at home," she observed, taking in the sight of the pictures and trinkets that she had only just seen for the first time in her life a few weeks back. She picked up a little toy racecar and smiled at it. "Cute. Or, erm, kawaii," she said, trying out what little Japanese she knew.

Amara laughed at her daughter's attempt before turned around and putting an arm around her shoulder. "We're going to have to work on your Japanese, kiddo." She glanced at the clock. It was nearly seven in the evening. Her stomach growled. "I'm going to take a shower and then we can go get some dinner, alright?"

Sarah nodded excitedly. "Alright! I can't wait to try some authentic Japanese food. Not that I don't love yours, of course."

Amara rolled her eyes playfully. "Watch yourself, Sarah."

Sarah went back to her room, which she had just spent the last hour transforming into a space she could live in. The first transformation had been to the bed. She had brought her own bed clothes and immediately rid the bed of its boring hotel comforter and sheets. After hers had been put in place, she had attacked the closet. With help from IKEA, she made it into a downsized copy of hers at home, everything properly separated and stored to her likings. And then she had put up her posters and her artwork on the walls before attacking the desk with her technologies and pictures. Her final touch with setting up an area for her cats to live in, putting their beds right next to hers. She was proud of her transformation and felt instantly at home.

Sarah fed her cats before taking a shower and readying herself to go out on the town. She dressed in a simply black pleated skirt, white blouse, and black shoes, tying her hair back in her signature ponytail. Just as she was putting on a little bit of makeup, Amara poked her head into the bathroom.

"Ready to go, kiddo?"

"Yeah!" Sarah replied.

With a farewell to the cats and the double-checking of having key cards, the two set off into the streets of Japan.

-End of chapter?

"Since this is your first night here, how about we eat fancy?" Amara offered as they walked out of the hotel.

"Sounds fabulous to me," Sarah responded with a smile.

They walked down a few blocks until they approached a restaurant that Amara had at with Michiru a few times. Amara wasn't one for the fancy, expensive scene but her lover had always be a lover of the arts and all things fashionable. Michiru had even played there a few times and Amara had tagged along to appreciate her talent.

"What's going on here?" Sarah asked as they approached the restaurant. There was quite a crowd gathered around outside, chattering in excitement.

"I don't know," Amara replied with uncertainty.

"Wanna go somewhere else?" Sarah asked.

Just before Amara could reply, the source of the excitement became known.

"Kaiou-san! Kaiou-san, will you look this way please?"

"Kaiou-san, where will you be playing next?"

"Kaiou-san, are the rumors true?"

"Michiru-san, Michiko-chan, could hold that pose please? Oh that was a beautiful one."

Amara's heart exploded then sank. There was her beautiful Michiru, the love of her life, looking as beautiful as she ever had. Her aqua hair was pinned up in an elegant twist and she was wearing a sleek evening gown, the dark blue silk shimmering with all the flashes going on around her. She looked so serene and happy, her eyes sparkling in happiness and a smile playing on her supple lips. Amara fell in love with her all over again as she stared at the center of attention.

And next to her was another aqua haired beauty. She was young, around Sarah's age, and already a vision of beauty. Her hair was curly and to her waist, some pieces pulled away from her elegant face, showing off high cheek bones, a sweet nose, perfect lips, and sea form green eyes. She was dressed more elegantly than Amara had ever seen a girl her age dressed. She was wearing a sparkling gown of emerald green, the cut modest and the skirt to her knees. Her smile was Michiru's, her eyes were Michiru's, and her grace was Michiru's. There was only one reason for this.

"Mom, isn't that your Michiru?" Sarah gasped as she took in the face of the elder beauty. "Who is the girl with her? Does she have a little sister? You didn't tell me about that."

Amara's heart was in her throat. She wanted to cry as she spoke. "She has no other family. It can only be her—her—her daughter."

Sarah gasped at this revelation. She had to admit that the similarities between the woman and the girl were too great for them to be simply sisters. Even the way that they moved was the same. They could only be mother and daughter. And the high society kind, too, judging by their dress.

"Let's go," Amara murmured. She turned away from the scene and clenched her fist. She wanted to hit someone, something. She couldn't stand the agony in her heart.

"No!" Sarah said. She grabbed her mother's hand and turned her around. "No, we have to tackle this now."

"No Sarah, we don't," Amara responded fiercely. "Let's go."

"Mom—,"

"Haruka-papa?" a female voice gasped.

Amara turned to the familiar voice. Michiru and Michiko were gone into the waiting limo, unable to see the scene. But Hotaru Tomoe had. She knew the face of the woman she once considered her substitute father anywhere, and with longer hair there was still no difference.

Amara felt a surge of pride and fear as she took in the appearance young woman Hotaru had become. Her hair had grown past her hips, reminiscent of the days she had been possessed by Mistress 9. But the surprised, happy purple eyes would never match those of the evil witch. She was dressed in a dark purple gown that accented her slender, young adult body well.

Not to Amara's surprise, Setsuna was behind her. Her ageless face was surprised by the sight of her dear friend. But other than that, she was unchanged. Her dark green hair was swept away from her face in her usual style and her black dress reminded Amara of the princesses that they once were.

"Haruka-papa, is it really you?" Hotaru asked. She broke through the paparazzi and approached the pair. She smiled and then threw her arms around the older woman. "Haruka-papa, I have missed you so much!"

"Mom, who is this?" Sarah asked, not understanding a word Hotaru was saying. She could only tell that the girl knew her mother well, for not that many people hugged her.

"Hotaru-chan," Haruka gasped. When the two separated, Haruka looked to Setsuna. "Setsuna-san." It was a statement. Not a greeting nor a question. Just a simple acknowledgement. Haruka knew Setsuna enough to know that a warm greeting was not to be had.

"Haruka-san, so nice to see that you have returned," Setsuna said. She looked over to Sarah, who looked confused but otherwise comfortable. "I see that you have a companion."

"Sakara-chan, Hotaru-chan," Haruka introduced.

Sarah recognized her birth name and looked to the young woman no more than a few years older then herself with a warm smile.

"Konnichiwa, Sakara-chan," Hotaru greeted warmly.

Sarah mimicked her with slow, unsure Japanese. Hotaru look to Haruka and then to Sarah lazily. And then did it again sharply. And again. And then once more, so that she was absolutely sure.

"Haruka-papa, is she?" Hotaru gasped.

Setsuna put a hand on Hotaru's shoulder. "Haruka-san has been gone very long. Let's let her be for now. Michiru and Michiko are waiting for us."

Hotaru looked torn between going with Setsuna and staying where she was. "Will you come see us?" Hotaru asked.

Haruka nodded. "Hai, Hotaru-chan. We will come see you."

With a small smile, Hotaru went back to the waiting limo.

"Where is Setsuna-san? We have to get going," Michiru asked when Hotaru entered the limo.

Hotaru did not even hesitate. "She ran into an old friend from the lab."

Michiko moved to sit next to the girl she thought of as her sister. "Will you help me with my homework when we get home?"

"Hai, imuoto," Hotaru replied affectionately.

Setsuna stepped into the limo. "It was so nice to see Yoshida-san again," she said with an easy smile.

Outside, Amara held the photo in her hands. She was tempted to rip it up, to attempt to believe that it wasn't true. But she couldn't. She knew that she couldn't.

"Mom, who were they?" Sarah asked.

"Friends of mine," Amara replied hollowly.

"What did she give you?" Sarah asked as she reached for the picture.

In it was a tired but happy looking Michiru holding a newborn Michiko. Setsuna was next to her, a young Hotaru looking down fondly at the baby she would be raised with. There was now no denying it. The girl was Michiru's daughter.

"Oh Mom," Sarah whispered. She hugged her mother close. She searched for the right words to say but found none. She couldn't promise that it was going to be okay, nor claim that things would turn out right and that maybe this was a misunderstanding. But she knew that would be lying. So she instead stuck with hugging her mother.

"Let's go eat, Sarah," Amara said with surprisingly strong voice.

"Are you sure?" Sarah asked.

Amara nodded. "C'mon."

-End of chapter.

I am SO sorry that this took forever to update. And I know that Haruka was pretty OOC in this chapter, but she's going through a lot so she can't always be strong. Also, don't freak out too much about Michiko. An explanation for her birth, and Sakara's as well, is on it's way. I will try to update as soon as I can.

Oh, and what Hotaru said to Michiko was "yes, younger sister". Any other Japanese that you don't recognize, feel free to ask me about!

Also, I will be drawing my characters soon. I'll post the link when I do.

Serenity


	3. A RunIn

Chapter 3: A Run-In

Thank you all for your support up to this point. I really appreciate it! Please enjoy, all! (EDITED! I had forgotten when typing not to write 'American dialect' and had somehow written American...so I went with the easy was and chose to write 'English' instead)

* * *

The picture was glaring evidence that the night before had not been a cruel joke played by her subconscious why she slept off jetlag. It was propped up on her nightstand against the alarm clock, the numbers illuminating the edges. Amara had spent much of the night in her room with a bottle of liquor, staring at the picture Setsuna had given her. It had been her distracting thought throughout dinner, although she had attempted an allusion to her daughter that things were as well as they could have been. Sarah hadn't bought it one bit, of course, and had given her mother her privacy when they got home.

"She's so beautiful, Michi. So much like you," Amara whispered as she looked at the picture and thought of the young girl she had seen the night before. "Was it hard raising her and Hotaru with only Setsuna to help? I'm sorry I was not there. We promised to raise Hotaru again, and I failed you." She sighed as she thought back to the events that had led to their custody of Hotaru once more.

After their defeat of Galaxia, it was decided that they would be allowed to finish out their lives in this century before the freeze took over. Because of this, Chibi-Usa had to be returned to the future so that she may reenter this century as Mamoru and Usagi's true child. That put the Saturn senshi in an awkward position, though. Her 21st century father and mother dead, she was orphaned. Also, it was her true place to serve Chibi-Usa as a senshi, their destiny to fight side-by-side in all of their incarnations. After a brief council between Queen Serenity and Sailor Pluto, it was decided that the girl once again be put into the care of the outer senshi. She lived as a young teenager for a few years until it was announced that Usagi was pregnant. Not wanting to harm the timeline too much, Hotaru was quickly reduced to infancy. That was mere months before Amara's…

She looked away from the picture and groaned as the empty bottled rolled against her head. As she sat there glaring at it, she noticed another picture and felt instantly horrible. Where was her daughter?

"Sarah?" Amara called out.

A few moments later, Sarah peaked her head into the room. "What's up, Mom? Are you feeling okay? Need the trash or anything?" Sarah nodded to the bottle and made sure to keep her distance. Her mother was rarely drunk, and when she was, the site was not a pretty one.

"Are you okay?" Amara asked.

Sarah was taken aback by this comment. Shouldn't it be the other way around? "What do you mean? Of course I'm okay." She made a quick spin to prove her point.

"I'm sorry about last night," Amara said.

Sarah blinked a few times before entering the room. "Mom, what's with the weird attitude? You have nothing to apologize for. I doubt there are many other people who would have handled seeing their ex lover with a child any better. Besides, you did the right thing: you waited until you got your child home safely before getting trashed. Although you do get points knocked off for drinking alone."

Amara smiled. She thanked the gods for blessing her with such a strong daughter.

Sarah took the picture from the nightstand and sat gingerly on the edge of the bed. "Ready to talk yet?" She looked the picture over a few times, taking in the image to the every detail. She wondered where the father was in this picture.

Amara groaned. "I don't think I ever will be." She pulled her pillow over her head.

While pondering what to say next, Sarah rubbed her mother's back in comfort. When she reached her hair, she stroked it softly. It was then that she remembered the pictures she and her mother had looked at back at their house. "Are you going to cut your hair?"

Amara turned her head so she could peak under her pillow at her daughter. "What?"

"Are you going to cut your hair? Your hair used to be short when you lived here," Sarah asked.

Amara pulled the pillow off her head and reached up to touch one of the locks. Her hair had grown longer than she had had it since she was a child. At first the longer hair had been an annoyance, especially when Sarah would constantly pull it in her infancy. But after a while, the hair had become manageable and she started to like the length on her. But that was back when she was in hiding. She wasn't really in hiding now, was she? Hadn't she been found out?

"Hmm, I don't know," Amara replied truthfully.

"Well, you don't do anything with it like this. You might as well chop it off again. Besides, it's going to be a hot summer," Sarah advised.

Amara batted at some of Sarah's long gold hair. "You're one to talk. You've got a lion's mane going on up here." Sarah's hair had yet to be brushed for the day, so the thick strands were all puffed up and tangled.

"At least I pull mine back or put it up." Sarah put the picture down and stood up. "I'm going to go for a run. You're welcome to come if you'd like. Run off some of those calories from last night…"

Amara had to admit that the idea appealed to her. When she was younger, she had always used running as a way to clear her head. But when she went to sit up, she felt an overwhelming onslaught of nausea.

"I think I'm going to stay here," Amara replied. "Hand me the trash, baby."

Sarah handed her mother the trash from the bathroom and then a hair tie. "When you're done puking, take a shower. No offense, Mom, but you kind of smell."

Amara sniffed around and grimaced. "Okay, I will."

"I will have my phone on me, okay. Call if you need me for anything," Sarah offered.

"Don't get lost. Oh! And don't keep your iPod on so loud. You'll blow your eardrums out," Amara advised as Sarah began to leave the room.

"Jeez Mom, I'll be fine," Sarah laughed.

Sarah retreated to her room to change into her sports bra, a navy blue tank top, black shorts, and her running shoes. After making sure her hair was secured in a ponytail and all of her limbs were properly stretched, she headed out. It was just after eleven and the day was already promising to be a hot one. Sarah briefly cursed herself for not grabbing a water bottle before her left. Sarah zoomed down the sidewalk, skillfully avoiding the pedestrians. It wasn't until a song came on her playlist that was strangely slow did she look down. The beautiful blonde girl didn't stand a chance.

"Abunai!" A male voice called out urgently just before the collision.

There were two high-pitched female screams, followed the concerned cry of a name.

"Kumiko-chan!"

Both blondes groaned. They had landed on the ground with hard thuds, the impact having been bruising. Once the stars cleared from Sarah's eyes, she began to freak out and apologize like there was no tomorrow.

"Omigod, omigod, omigod, omigod I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going! I'm so sorry! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Omigod. I'm sooo sorry! I'm so airheaded sometimes. Are you okay?" Sarah rattled as she struggled to stand. Her earbuds had fallen out of her ears and were tangling in her hair.

A handsome young man stepped forward to help up the other blonde. He was speaking to her rapidly in concerned Japanese, scrutinizing her smaller form for any injuries. It was then that Sarah realized that everything she had just said was pointless. This girl was undoubtedly Japanese. She had had no idea what Sarah was saying.

"Kumiko-chan, are you alright? Your hand looks scratched. Do you feel any other pain? Come back up to the temple, I'll have mother fix you up," the young man said.

As Sarah attempted to untangle the earbuds from her hair, she realized that there was blood on them. She looked around for the source and was appalled to see that there was blood running down her calf. Had the impact been that hard? She tried to see if the other girl was alright.

"Man, how do I tell her I'm sorry?" Sarah wondered out loud.

"Oh, it's alright. I wasn't looking where I was going, either," Kumiko said in crisp English.

Sarah gaped at the blonde beauty.

Kumiko giggled good-naturedly at her shocked face. "My mother and father are in the film industry and have a habit of traveling all over the globe to do projects. I know several languages." She gently pulled her hand from the young man's grasp and took a few steps closer to Sarah. "How is your leg? If you want, we can head up to the temple and have it taken care of. Isamu's mother runs it and I'm sure she'd be more than happy to help you out. I'm a bit of a klutz so it won't be very surprising to them if I bring up someone else who I got banged up." Her laugh was sweet and infectious, for it had Sarah and the young man, Isamu, smiling as a reflex.

"Thanks. That's be really nice of you." After a moment, she remembered the situation. "And I'm really sorry. This _was _my fault. If I had been watching where I was going, I wouldn't have run full-speed into you."

Kumiko waved her uninjured hand at the matter. "Like I said, it's not a big deal. Besides, I think you got the worst end of the deal here." She glanced at the stinging scratches on her other hand and then at Sarah's bloody leg. "Toya Kumiko." She paused then giggled. "I mean, I'm Kumiko Toya. Man that's a hard habit to break!"

"I'm Sarah Taylor," Sarah replied.

"Oh, how rude of me! This is Isamu Kumada." She turned to the young man before continuing the introduction in Japanese. Sarah didn't miss the way Kumiko's cornflower eyes sparkled as she looked up at the taller, and obviously older, boy.

"Konnichiwa," Sarah greeted.

Isamu smiled in reply.

"Let's head on up. You'll ruin those nice sneakers of yours," Kumiko said.

"Sounds good to me. My mom would kill me if I ruined these," Sarah laughed.

"Isamu-san, can you help Sarah-san up the stairs?" Kumiko asked.

Isamu nodded and reached a hand out to Sarah. She hesitated and looked to Kumiko, who translated what she had asked. Sarah then smiled and accepted to assistance. Her leg was beginning to sting, after all, and as she looked at the steps, she knew she wouldn't have been able to do it herself.

Sarah looked over the two as they climbed the stairs. Kumiko was probably her age and had long gold hair, roughly a shade lighter than her own, with two little white bows in the front. Her eyes were a sparkling cornflower and she had a bright smile. She was dressed in a black pleated skirt and a white blouse, black ballet flats on her feet. She looked well-off and happy. Isamu was one of the more handsome men Sarah had seen in a while. He had raven hair that fell around his eyes and deep chocolate eyes. He was dressed casually in jeans and a faded red T-shirt. The steps seemed like second-nature to the two of them, as if it were nothing more then a stroll in the park.

"Kumiko, what did you do this time?" the annoyed voice of Rei's daughter, Kohaku, called out as she saw the blonde approaching. "I thought you left with—" she faltered when she saw her brother helping an unfamiliar blonde. "What happened?"

"We had a little run-in. Go grab so hot water and a rag," Isamu commanded.

Kohaku shot Kumiko and annoyed look before going to do what her older brother bid. Isamu helped Sarah over to a bench before going into the house.

"What was with her?" Sarah asked.

"Kohaku-baka? Oh, she's had a stick up her ass as long as I can remember. She's never liked any of us. She goes to this prissy private school and thinks she's better then we are," Kumiko replied, obviously annoyed.

"Who is 'us'?" Sarah asked. She prayed it was other English-speaking kids who were just as friendly as Kumiko.

"'Us' refers to the kids of all of my mom's friends. We've all been hanging out together since we were babies, Kohaku unfortunately included. Our mom's still hang out here all the time, so that means that we do, too. Not that we don't hang out on our own, of course. But typically when we do, we hang out at one of our houses and Kohaku is _so_ not invited. She's always spoiling things. Like, when Usa-chan and I were play this game one time—," Kumiko rambled.

"Kumiko-chan, is that you?" a girl called out as she came around from the side of the temple, cutting off Kumiko mid-ramble. She had auburn hair in wild curls that fell down just past her shoulders, pulled half up, and was dressed in a pair of jean shorts and a pink tank top. "Kumi-chan, I thought you left already." It was then that she saw Sarah. "Who is this?"

"The reason why I'm still here. I had a little accident." Kumiko lifted her hand to show her scraped palm and made a gesture towards Sarah's injured leg. "Moriko-chan, this is Sarah. Sarah, Moriko."

"Salah?" Moriko tested the name on her tongue with curiosity.

Kumiko giggled at her friend's pronunciation. "Sa_r_ah is from America."

"Oh! Hello," Moriko said brightly, testing out what American she knew.

"Konnichiwa," Sarah replied in the same manner.

"This will be fun for me. Neither of you speak the other person's language," Kumiko said under her breath. Still, she was thrilled to be useful in this situation. It was very rare that one of her skills came to use whilst amongst her friends.

"Do any of your other friends speak English?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah! Other then my brothers and sister, my friend Chikako is a super-genius and is fluent, just like me! And I think her little sister Arisu can speak some, too," Kumiko replied. She frowned. "Chikako left already, though. She's probably almost home by now." She chewed her lip in thought.

"What's going on out here?" Rei Hino, or rather Rei Kumada, asked as she came out from the temple. Minako Toya and Makoto Taji were right behind Rei, a little bleach blonde haired girl following them curiously.

"Kumiko? I thought you left with Usa-chan and the boys," Minako asked as she looked in curiosity at her oldest daughter.

Once more, Kumiko gave a short description of the incident and introduced Sarah. She was almost tempted to call Makoto's Takeshi and Daichi outside so that they, too, could hear the story, but figured that Isamu would tell him. Once everyone was clued in, the adults immediately went to Sarah's side.

"Hi, I'm Kumiko's mom. Does anything hurt?" Minako asked.

Sarah was relieved to hear that she spoke in English. "No. I mean, it stings, but otherwise I'm alright."

"I wish Ami were here." When she chewed on her lip in thought, Sarah smiled. Mother and daughter were so much alike that it was almost comical. Minako turned to Kumiko. "Hot water? Bandages?"

"Isamu-san and Kohaku-san are getting that stuff," Kumiko replied. She sat down next to Sarah. "Sarah, this is my mom, Minako Toya. These are her friends, Rei Kumada and Makoto Taji. And that adorable little thing over there is my baby sister, Sachiko."

"I am not a baby!" Sachiko argued in English, not caring if the new girl heard her defense. Her face immediately colored at the accusation.

Kumiko rolled her eyes. "She's eight and my youngest sister. She will always be a baby in my eyes," Kumiko explained to Sarah.

"I always wanted a little sister," Sarah mused. She decided to leave out the whole 'I can't have any siblings, though, because my mom is a lesbian' thing, figuring that it was too much information for the moment.

"We can trade if you want. I even have two younger brothers if you want to give that a try," Kumiko muttered.

"Where do you live? Has anyone thought to contact your parents yet?" Minako asked.

"Oh, I don't live here. I'm on vacation with my mom," Sakara said. It was then that she remembered her cell phone. "I have a cell phone I can call her with."

"Do you think we should call Ami or Mamoru-san?" Makoto asked.

"We have a well equipped first-aid kit in the house. You'd be surprised how many tourists get injured," Rei said. She pushed away the flood of memories of upset tourists complaining about injuries in languages that Rei could only hope to understand. _'Maybe I should have Ami-chan tutor me on some foreign languages. But at least Minako and Kumiko are here to translate.'_

"Here we go," Kohaku said as she came outside, Isamu and Makoto's two boys in tow. Isamu handed off the kit and he and his friends went to stand off to the side.

Sarah lay down on her stomach on the bench so that her leg could be properly examined. Kumiko was kind enough to hold her hand as Rei washed the wound as gently as she could with the hot water, Sarah hissing in pain regardless. Once her leg was cleaned, she had to roll back onto her back so that they could wrap her leg. After a small argument about the placement of a metal holding clasp between the three adults, they deemed Sarah done.

"You should probably call your mom now. You shouldn't walk on your leg," Minako advised.

Sarah sat up and quickly dialed her mother's cell number. When her mother didn't answer right away, Sarah briefly cursed herself for having not thought to put the number for their room in her phone. As she was pondering this, her phone vibrated in her hand.

"I told you not to get lost," Amara said the instant Sarah put the phone to her ear.

"It's not that, Mom. Um, I sort of got into a little accident," Sarah explained what happened before her mother could freak. "I'm okay now. The ladies at the place I'm at wrapped my leg for me, so it's not bleeding anymore. But they did advise that I not walk on it." She paused to inquire as to where she was. Kumiko was quick to reply. "I'm at the Hikawa Shrine."

Amara paled. _'This cannot be happening. Of all the places she could possibly be…'_

"Mom? Mom, do you know where that is?"

"Sorry Sarah. And yes, I do. I'll be there soon. Do you mind waiting for me at the bottom of the steps?"

"I can't really walk, Mom. I mean, I'm sure someone would help me down if I asked them—,"

"Ask them then, Sarah. I'll be there soon."

When Sarah heard the dial-tone, she pulled her phone away from her ear in question. Had they been disconnected? And what was her mother's deal? Still, she knew she should answer the curious faces staring at her. "My mom is coming to get me. Could someone help me down the stairs?"

"Isamu and his friends would probably carry you if I asked them to," Kumiko offered.

Sarah turned to look at the two that her new friend was referring to. The taller one had wavy brown hair and brilliant emerald eyes. He had an easy-going smile and was talking quietly to his younger brother. The younger one made Sarah's heart skip a beat. He had light brown hair and brown eyes, and when he saw Sarah eyeing him, he gave her a smile that made her face flush. She quickly turned away from him and pretended to be observing her bandages.

Kumiko walked up to the three boys. "So, which of you three lucky lads wants to help assist my new friend Sarah here down the steps?"

"I'll do it," Takeshi offered instantly. He then added, "We were just about to leave, anyway."

Daichi playfully punched his younger brother in the shoulder. "You've always had a thing for blondes." He then looked at Kumiko and gave her an apologetic shrug. "Pretty blondes, that is."

Kumiko glared at him and punched him in the arm, hard. When Daichi winced, she smiled triumphantly. "Besides, I can do much better then the likes of you."

Minako laughed. "That's my girl."

When Daichi turned to his mother for some assistance, she merely shrugged and smiled at the girls.

Kumiko went back to the bench where Sarah was sitting. "Takeshi-san offered to take you down. I'm sure Isamu-san will help you, too. I'm willing to bet that they'll even carry you if I asked them to. Just act pathetic enough and appeal to their gentlemanly side."

"Thanks, Kumiko," Sarah said with a laugh. She turned to the adults and thanked them as well.

"I suggest you go see a doctor once you get back to where you're staying. I'm sure we did enough to prevent infection, but it's best to check these things out." Minako grabbed a piece of paper out of her purse and quickly wrote some information down. "These are two really good doctors, old friends of ours. Either one will be more then happy to give you a check up. Tell them you're one of Kumiko's victims and I'm sure they'll give you a discount." Minako laughed at her own joke.

Kumiko didn't even bother to defend herself. "How far away is your hotel? Should we head down now?"

"She'll probably be here any minute," Sarah replied.

Kumiko turned and smiled sweetly at Takeshi. "Takeshi-san, we need your assistance please."

Takeshi ignored his brother's snickering as he came forward to assist Sarah. She blushed as he helped her stand and wrapped her arm around his neck.

"Do you want us to wait with you?" Minako asked.

"I'll be alright, thank you," Sarah assured her.

"Make sure you come back and let us know how you're doing, alright?" Makoto said, Minako translating for her.

"I will, I promise," Sarah replied.

Rei scrutinized Sarah closely before she left with the others. Something felt familiar about the girl. When she got inside, she addressed the other girls.

"Did she seem familiar to you?" Rei asked.

Makoto shrugged. "Maybe she's been here before?"

"No, it wasn't that," Minako insisted.

"You noticed something too, Mina?" Rei gasped.

"There was definitely something, I just can't place what," Minako agreed.

"You two have been spending too much time in the sun," Makoto insisted, rolling her eyes at them. "She's just another tourist, victim of Kumiko's clumsiness."

Minako sighed and nodded. "It's been a long day. I should get going. I need to plan a good punishment for Kumiko letting the boys leave on their own."

Makoto and Rei laughed.

"Don't give her too hard of a time, Mina. She ran someone over and was detained. You should know that feeling," Rei teased.

Childishly, Minako stuck her tongue out at the miko and went outside to retrieve her daughters.

* * *

End of chapter!

Woo, it's a long one. I was actually three pages, plus, longer, but then I realized that I could separate the chapter and give you guys an update sooner, instead! So please review. Also, once again, please forgive my OCCness of Haruka. I never realized she'd be so hard to write. And I promise that the name will switch over soon. I keep making the mistake and writing their other names instead. Haha. Oh! And check out my deviantART account for some art of all of these characters.

-Serenity


	4. Revelations

Chapter 4: Revelations

Thank you all for the reviews and sticking by me!

So I learned something new today: Apparently Takeuchi-san once said that persons of Moon linage can only have one child and that child must be a girl. I didn't know that Oh well, I'm sticking with my characters! Besides, Kousagi is technically sorta-kinda cannon…in a way. Haha.

Anyhoo, thank you all! Enjoy!

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The teenagers watched as their mothers retreated back into the house.

"Maybe you should carry her, Shi-can," Moriko teased as soon as her mother was out of earshot.

"Like a bride!" Sachiko added excitedly. Moriko laughed and playfully ruffled the younger girls' hair. The younger girl was so much fun to influence.

"You're so immature," Kohaku said with a roll of her eyes.

"Oh, shut up, Kohaku-baka. You're no fun," Kumiko said. Kohaku ignored her and went into the house. Kumiko turned to Sarah. "Sure you'll be alright? Would you like me to ask Isamu if he'll help, too?"

"I think we'll be okay," Sarah assured her.

Kumiko looked at Takeshi. "Okay, hoist her up!"

Takeshi fastened his arm around Sarah's waist and he began to move her towards the steps. Isamu and Kumiko followed closely behind, both ready to assist if needed. Sachiko was tempted to follow her sister but chose to stay behind with Moriko and Daichi, who were still enjoying a laugh at their brother's expense. The trip down was slow, Sarah mainly hopping on her foot. Every once in a while, Sarah threatened to topple over, but Takeshi was strong, and Isamu was quick. Kumiko, on the other hand, flipped out in two languages, going back and fourth between the two whenever she feared Sarah would fall.

"How do I tell him thank you?" Sarah asked when they finally reached the bottom of the steps. Everyone looked relieved that they got to the bottom relatively without injury.

"I'm sure a kiss on the cheek would do the trick," Kumiko replied with a wink.

"Kumiko!" Sarah shrieked. She turned bright red and clumsily untangled herself from Takeshi's grasp. She laughed nervously when he gave her a strange look, before resting against the wall to ease the pain on her leg. Again, she used the excuse of checking on her bandages to keep from looking at him.

"What did you tell her, Kumiko-chan?" Takeshi asked.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Kumiko replied innocently.

Isamu rolled his eyes at the younger girl. "Kumiko don't tease you're new friend. She'll not want to come around you if you keep doing that."

"She knows it's all in good fun," Kumiko replied. "Right Sarah? You know I'm only teasing you. Oh, and it's 'domo arigato'. That's what to say to tell Takeshi-san 'thank you'."

"Domo arigato, Takeshi-san," Sarah said, lifting her eyes up to meet his only briefly.

"Do itamashite, Sarah-chan," Takeshi replied warmly. He looked to Kumiko. "Do you want us to wait down here with her? I think your mother wants to leave."

He didn't need a response, however, because it was then that a cab pulled up. Amara opened the door and rushed to where Sarah was resting. She immediately went to examine her daughter's wound.

"Mom, I'm fine," Sarah insisted.

"Oh really? Let's see you walk," Amara challenged as she straightened. Sarah looked away in defeat. "That's what I thought. C'mon, I'll help you into the car."

"The ladies here gave me the number of some doctors to call," Sarah said, showing her mother the piece of paper Minako had given her.

Amara glanced down at the paper and almost groaned to see the two names. She should have known. She wouldn't be surprised if the two were the families personal physicians. Amara pretended like she didn't notice, though, and then she helped her daughter into the cab. Once she was sure Sarah was secure in the car, Amara turned to address the teens standing by, waiting.

"Thank you for taking car of my daughter," Amara said to them in Japanese.

"It's the least we could do after I ran her over," Kumiko replied in American.

Amara chuckled at the teenager. "American, huh?"

Kumiko shook her head. "Worldly parents." She walked closer to the cab and leaned over so that she could see Sarah. "Promise you'll stop by soon? We're here all the time, so if you only see Kohaku-baka, hide until you see one of us."

"Promise," Sarah replied, laughing a bit.

"Stop by?" Amara asked.

"My mom will want to know how she's healing," Kumiko replied.

Amara observed the blonde warily. There was no way she was Rei's daughter. The blue eyes and blonde hair would never have been produced by the raven-haired girl and her brunette husband. Amara then looked over at the two boys. One had light brown hair and brown eyes, cute but nothing particularly special. The second had black hair and brown eyes. Also handsome, but once again, nothing too out of the ordinary. However, as Amara thanked them again for helping her daughter, she couldn't help thinking that she knew the two boys. Perhaps not? They looked like most of the young men in the Juuban district, nothing unusual about them at all. There could be no harm in Sarah returning to visit them, she supposed.

It wasn't until the cab began to drive away that it hit Amara.

Rei and Makoto's boys. Of course! The two had already been toddlers by the time Amara had run away. Amara relaxed into the seat as she thought about the last she had seen the two boys.

It was shortly after Minako's wedding. Amara chuckled quietly to herself as she thought about that. Who would have ever guessed that Minako-chan would get married last? Or, for that matter, who would have ever guessed that Rei-chan would get married first? But Rei's grandfather's cancer had greatly pushed along the relationship of Rei and Yuuichirou, sorrow bringing them closer together then they ever thought. It was her grandfather's dying wish to see them happy together, so shortly after Rei's nineteenth birthday, the two were wed. Rei had expressed concerns to Usagi about feeling guilty about being married before her, but both Usagi and Mamoru insisted that Rei's grandfather was more important then some "stupid tradition that didn't even apply in today's world," as Usagi had so eloquently put it. Baby Isamu came shy of a year after the wedding, and Grandpa Hino was still alive. And while everyone thought that maybe, just maybe he'd pull through, he died three months after Kohaku's birth. Rei and Yuuichirou were at least grateful that he got to see his grandchildren before his death, which they both knew made him happy.

Makoto was the next to get married, as Amara recalled. She could still remember the day that Makoto came into the Crown, flustered and dreamy-eyed, and not at all referring to an old boyfriend. When she was seventeen, she was running late for her bakery class, and in true Usagi fashion, she ran over a guy named Taro. The two ended up talking (Makoto never made it to class that day) and it wasn't too long before they became an item. They remained steady for two years, after which Taro proposed. Like Rei, Makoto had felt bad for getting married before Usagi and Mamoru. But once more, Usagi assured her that it was alright. Mamoru was training hard in school and the two had agreed not to get married until he was sure that he could balance school and his marriage to Usagi (as well as the birth of Chibi-Usa, which they knew would be happening shortly after their marriage). Makoto was married a few months after Rei, and then announced her own pregnancy. Her son Daichi was brought into the world four months after Isamu.

It was two years until there was another wedding, and what a sight it was. This time, it was the wedding celebration of the future king and queen, Mamoru and Usagi. Mamoru had graduated at the top of his class and was welcomed into the arms of the medical community with offers left and right. With money secure (and Kenji Tsukino's gun put away), the two were set to be married. Amara remembered the affair with great affection. It was the happiest time for all of the senshi, and they were on the excited Usagi's beck and call day and night, all of them only too happy to oblige to her requests (after all, she had already proven herself a worthy maid-of-honor to both Rei and Makoto, so it was only fair for especially those two to pay her back). Their wedding was a lavish affair, truly fit for the future king and queen of the universe, and lived up to all of Usagi's childhood dreams. Amara could even remember seeing the spirit of Queen Serenity present at the ceremony, the senshi having used their powers for the day to bring the queen into the present so that she could finally witness the wedding of her daughter.

A few months after Usagi's wedding, Ami was married. She ran into Ryo Urawa shortly after her high school graduation and the two began a pen pal friendship. On the year anniversary of their run-in, Ryo surprised Ami by showing up at her dorm room door. From then on, the two remained in a steady relationship. The two had originally planned on keeping their relationship on a strictly "boyfriend/girlfriend" status until they were both done with school, but they caught the "wedding bug" and the two enjoyed a beautiful ceremony, complete with pregnant bridesmaids.

Minako was the last to get married. After high school graduation, she was presented with the opportunity to go to Hollywood to be in a film. She was upset to leave her friends, but they all insisted that she should follow her dreams. When she arrived, she was relieved to find a young man who was from Tokyo on the set. It was love at first sight for the Venus Senshi, and the two were quickly an item. After two movies together, they headed back to Japan for a wedding, taking place a few months after Ami's. Minako brought her daughter into the world a few short months later, and was not at all ashamed. Minako did not stay in Japan for very long, though. Amara read from afar about Minako's shocking return to films shortly after the birth of her first child, Kumiko, and how husband and wife continued doing films even after the birth of a second and third child, both sons. It wasn't until Minako's last daughter was born that she returned to Japan. While her husband worked locally, Minako became an ideal stay-at-home mom. Amara could remember reading an article in a Japanese magazine that featured pictures of Minako's home, yard, and children. It pained her to have to learn of these things through the media, but it was a way for her to stay connected.

"I don't think we'll be needing a doctor," Amara assured her daughter when they arrived home. Sarah had just gotten out of the shower, having decided to wash off the sweat and blood that had dried on her skin. She stood in the living room in her bathrobe so that her mother could observe the naked wound.

"Sure?" Sarah asked, twisting so she could better see the scrap. The skin was bright pink and the scar was sure to be a long one. She marveled at how she had managed to cause herself so much damage. She must have been running faster then she thought. How was it that Kumiko was relatively unharmed? Was the blonde really that strong?

"I've had worse wounds then this when I was a kid," Amara said. She winced briefly as she thought about the many injuries inflicted upon her in her senshi days. "But we should probably keep it wrapped to prevent infection. I'll call down to the front desk about some gauze."

Sarah nodded and went into her room to get dressed. When she was making her way back to her room, a thought struck her. _'No, no it couldn't be,' _Sarah argued with herself. Still, the thought was nagging at her. _'I'll wait until she's left,_' Sarah decided. She went into the living room and settled on the couch. The living room was spacious and fancy enough, but it still felt cold to Sarah. She began to think of ways to make it more personalized. After all, if she was going to be living there for a wihle, she might as well turn it into a livable space.

"Hungry, Sarah?" Amara asked.

"I am!" Sarah replied. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until just then. Briefly, she wondered when the last time she ate was. Could have been the night before?

"I'll call and have something sent up with the gauze. But I should probably stock the fridge with food. We can't afford to eat out every night," Amara mused as she looked around the kitchen. They had brought some nonperishable foods with them, but nothing to make a substantial meal of. Amara momentarily shook her head at her lack of positive parenting skills as of late. "What do you want to eat?"

"Cheeseburger, please!" Sarah chirped happily. She got up from the couch and made her way into her bedroom to grab some pictures to decorate the living room with while they waited. She grabbed pictures of her and her friends, her and her mother, and even those of her cats. As she began placing them around the room, she could feel it become more like her home. She even moved one of the cat beds into the living room so that her babies could feel more at home as well. When she was done, she stuck her head into the kitchen to see what her mother was doing.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm just making a grocery list. Anything specific you want me to get you?" Amara asked.

"You know what I crave," Sarah replied. She opened cabinets, looking at the cans they had brought. She spied two boxes of macaroni and frowned. Had they only brought that much?

"Well, I'll get you some of those foods, but I also want to encourage you to try some genuine Japanese cuisine. After all, you wanted to get more in touch with your heritage, and you are 100% Japanese," Amara said.

Sarah chewed the inside of her cheek in thought before speaking again. "So is my father from around this area?"

Amara's pencil only paused a moment before she continued to write the list. "He is."

Sarah knew that that was the only answer she would get. She knew better then to push her luck. Obviously the subject of her father was a hard one on her mother, and she had known her entire life that the circumstances of her birth weren't exactly ideal. But that was all. She didn't know why they weren't ideal, or even what features she got from him, if any. She hated Father's Day because it always reminded her of what she didn't have. Still, she knew she shouldn't press her mother for details. She trusted that one day, she'd get her answers.

"How much longer?" Sarah asked after a moment. She had hopped onto the counter and been advising her mother on what else to add to the list. Her rumbling stomach was becoming annoying.

"Shouldn't be too long," Amara assured her.

Sarah nodded and carefully made her way back to her bedroom to tend to the cats. They immediately harassed her for some food, to which she complied. While they ate, she hopped on to her computer to check her usual websites and briefly drop comments on the profiles of her friends at home to let them know how she was doing. She was mostly done with a message to Melissa about her accident earlier that day when she remembered what she wanted to do later that evening.

"Mom?" She called out. When her mother responded, she continued. "When are you going out?"

"After we eat," Amara replied.

Sarah gave a sigh of relief. She didn't want to do what she needed to do while her mother was still home. "Okay," she replied after she realized that she hadn't said anything for a while.

"Food's here, baby," Amara called a few minutes later. Amara tipped the young boy and proceeded to set up the food on the kitchen table. By the time things were set, Sarah had hobbled her way into the room. "Let me see that leg." Sarah sat on the couch while Amara expertly wrapped her leg. When she was sure it was snug enough, she clipped it into place. "How is it feeling?"

"It's felt better. Do you mind going shopping alone? I don't think I should go very far just yet," Sarah said. She wasn't lying entirely. After all, her leg did hurt and she was annoyed that she had to hobble most places to avoid causing a stinging sensation up her leg.

"That's fine," Amara replied. "But are you sure you're alright with being here alone?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "I'm fourteen, Mom. Besides, if anyone tries to rob me, I'll just transform and kick their ass."

"That's my girl. Although, do you know how to transform yet?" Amara asked curiously. She didn't hear her daughter attempting any transformations while they were at home the same way she had done after discovering her own powers.

That stopped Sarah. "Don't I just have to be in the moment?"

Amara chuckled. "You need to know how to transform at the drop of the hat, Sar. You need to be able to identity a threat and then be able to keep your head clear enough to transform."

"I didn't think that much would go into it," Sarah confessed quietly.

"I wonder what your transformation phrase even is," Amara wondered aloud. She then shrugged. "Chances are you won't need it. That youma in America seemed to be a fluke. I doubt there are any here." Amara felt the lie on her tongue, but ignored it. It was best not to worry Sarah about that type of stuff. No one ever should, she decided.

"I don't see how a gross monster can be considered a fluke anywhere," Sarah argued.

"You'd be surprised," Amara replied. She recalled the brief times in her past when she had encountered one-time threats. They were always a challenge, but usually were followed by prolonged times of peace. Although Amara did admit feeling nervous that the threat had taken place in America; what were youma doing there? This caused her to wonder how many youma threats occurred that never went reported. After all, what news story would cover something as ridiculous sounding as a monster attacking innocent citizens?

"Maybe I should learn, then. You know, just to be safe," Sarah said.

The idea did sound appealing. But Amara didn't know her daughter's transformation phrase or her senshi name, and Sarah didn't seem to know either. Also, Sarah hadn't presented her mother with a henshin stick, only the sword. Amara wondered if perhaps the sword was supposed to be used in her daughter's transformation process, but when she recalled the story she had been told, she realized that the sword had shown up later. Maybe Sarah's senshi powers had been a fluke? This worried Amara more then she cared to admit. Sure, she had felt proud of Sarah in the past watching her excel in her racing and other exploits, but she had never felt prouder then she had seeing her daughter in senshi wear.

But maybe it really was a fluke. From what she knew about the future, there was no need for any of the senshi to reproduce. Chibi-Usa had her Asteroid Senshi as her guardians, and thus a new generation of senshi would be rendered useless. And yet here they all were in the present, each of them a mother. Would their children not exist in the future? That sent a pained feeling through Amara's chest. How could her beautiful, wonderful daughter not exist in the future? And then Amara remembered the circumstances of Sarah's birth and paled. That would never happen again unless someone was really an idiot. How could Sarah happen in the future? Were the children of the senshi merely here as something for them to do while they awaited the freeze? Amara made a mental note to contact Setsuna and get as much information out of her as she could.

"Mom?" Sarah asked. She had taken her mother's silence as cue to eat, but she had been distracted when she noticed emotions running rampant across her features. "Mom, what are you thinking about?"

Amara shook her head then offered Sarah a less-then reassuring smile. "Nothing, Sarah. Eat up, okay?"

When they were both done with their meal, Amara made sure Sarah could find the English subtitles on the TV and headed out to complete her tasks.

The instant Sarah heard the door close, she ran into her mother's room. Careful not to disturb much, Sarah rummaged through her mother's things until she came across the object of her desire: the scrapbook. Her heart began to race as she carefully carried the book back into the living room. Trusting that her mother would not come into the room like some after-school-special type of moment where a kid has to hide an object hurriedly in an obvious manner, Sarah settled back on the couch. Sarah lifted the cover and began to look through the photos, her heart speeding up rapidly as she took the images into account.

"I knew it," Sarah muttered as she looked at one image in particular. It was a group image of five teenaged girls, three of which Sarah instantly knew she had met the adult-versions of today: Rei, Makoto, and Minako. The mothers of the girls she had just made (sort of) friends with today were her mothers past friends. Suddenly she felt strange, almost tingly in a way, and she knew that somehow, she was always meant to know these girls. That if her mother hadn't left, these girls would have been her friends all along. And maybe she wouldn't have had to knock Kumiko down to get to know her.

Sarah looked through the other pictures, taking in the images of the other girls with renewed interest. Hotaru looked different then she did in these pictures, although she remembered her mother mentioning something about her being reborn more then once and wondered if that had happened any time recently. There was a picture with Hotaru and the pink-haired girl, Chibi-Usa as Sarah recalled, which made Sarah wonder when she would have the fortune of meeting the family who would one day rule the universe. Sarah giggled a bit at that thought. How strange to think that she may get the chance to meet a future queen of the universe, not to mention a past princess of the universe whom her mother had served.

"Should I tell Kumiko that I know?" Sarah asked Comet as he sauntered into the room. The cat merely cocked his head off to the side before hopping onto the couch next to her. "Well, I guess that conversation would go pretty strangely, huh? 'Hi there Kumiko, remember me, the girl who knocked you down? Anyway, turns out our moms were something of bffs when they were kids. I know, right, totally weird? But way cool, huh? Where is everyone else?'" Sarah snorted. "That would go smoothly." She scratched her cat lovingly behind his ear and looked through the pictures some more. "I should probably leave Mom to that stuff, huh? Wouldn't want to blow her cover or anything."

It was then that Stella decided to make herself known, meowing demandingly for either food or attention, or both. Sarah put the pictures away carefully before tending to her demanding cats. As she was stroking their silky fur, she wondered when the next time was that she would even get to see any of the girls. She doubted her mother would let her wander around anymore considering she ran someone over already. Maybe she could convince her to head to the shrine? No, that wouldn't do. Her strange conversation with her mother on the phone earlier now made more sense: her mother was avoiding her past.

"Why is Mom being so cowardly? She's never been like this before," Sarah asked the cats. "What could she have possibly done in the past?" She pondered that for a while, imagining all sorts of different scenario's that would lead one to want to avoid ones past. She ruled out a bad break-up with Michiru instantly, after having seen her reaction to running into the woman the night before. Perhaps it was a senshi-related fight? That was possible. Maybe they got into some sort of battle strategy fight and her mother was just as stubborn as to the way things should go that she left. While that did sound plausible, Sarah instantly found flaws in it. Her mother would never be that set in her way about something that she would leave behind those she loved, and she obviously loved her senshi friends a great deal. What then? Why did she leave?

"Sarah, come help me with the bags!" Amara called out, interrupting Sarah's thought process.

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-End of chapter!

I know, kind of awkward, but I couldn't think of a way to end it gracefully. Sorry for my delay in updating. I'm sure we're all starting to stress, especially with Christmas spending right around the corner and finals being all demanding and stuffs! I will try to update sooner next time, promise! But only if I get reviews. I need to know there are people still out there! Haha. Thanks all!

-Serenity


	5. The Pool Party

Chapter 5

Hello all! I know it's been forever since I've updated, and that's because I'm having HORRENDOUS writers block (plus the whole computer crashing thing). I know where I want to go with this, but I cannot seem to make the journey without it sucking. This is about the fourth time I've written this chapter because I cannot seem to write one that's truthful enough. I'm still having an issue grasping Haruka as a character, so I apologize and am totally owning up to it. I'm just having serious problems right now with this, as I have been since I last updated. So this is my attempt at a worth-while chapter. (I really wish I could just leave a blank chapter and get to where I wanna go right now). Please bear with me! And I love everyone who is still sticking around for this!

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The next week was spent exploring as much of Tokyo as Sarah could manage on her injured leg. Amara took Sarah to restaurants, live theatre, and even movies, Sarah finding herself loving more and more about Japanese culture and all that her birthright homeland had to offer. Amara had even begun to refer to Sarah as Sakara, hoping to get her used to her birth name (they even discussed changing it officially once she returned to school). In return, although with great reluctance, Amara also returned to her own birth name, the fake last name staying in tact. She insisted this was silly, since her own daughter wouldn't refer to her by her first name, but Sakara said that fair was fair and left it at that.

"Sakara, how's it going on your Japanese lesson?" Haruka asked that Friday. She had bought Sakara the Rosetta Stone discs, hoping to speed up Sakara's knowledge of the language. After all, this trip was too long for her to have to play translator constantly.

"Very well, Mama," Sakara responded in Japanese.

Haruka beamed proudly and left her daughter to her lessons. Once the door was closed, Sakara immediately shut off the CD and opened her Facebook. She had been secretly chatting with Kumiko all morning.

Sarah Taylor: Sorry, my mom had just walked in.

Kumiko Toya: It's okay, I know how that goes. So, are you gonna stop by today?

Sarah Taylor: I dunno…I can't think of a good enough excuse to leave.

Kumiko Toya: Umm…tell her something didn't fit right and you wanna return it!

Sarah Taylor: No, that won't work. She'll insist on going with me. Any other ideas?

Kumiko Toya: Sorry, I'm fresh out. Maybe try the truth?

Sakara snorted at that thought. She could already see what her mother's face would look like after hearing that she wanted to return to the temple. There was no way that would work.

Sarah Taylor: That won't work.

Kumiko Toya: That blows, man. Too bad your mom is so ridiculously strict! No offense.

Sarah Taylor: None taken. She just doesn't want me wandering around in a strange place I don't know, I mean we all know what happened the last time I did that. Btw, how is your hand?

Kumiko Toya: Totally fine. I told you, girl, I'm a tough one!

Sarah Taylor: And here I thought I was tough!

"Hey Sakara, I'm gonna run to the store really quickly. The cats are running low on food. Want to come with me?" Haruka called from the living room.

Sakara perked up. Now was her chance! "No thanks, Mom. I still have some of this lesson left," Sakara replied.

"Okay," Haruka replied, now at Sakara's door. "Don't forget to keep the door locked while I'm gone. It should only take a half hour."

Sakara rolled her eyes, hoping that would distract her mother as she stealthily closed her Facebook. "I'm fourteen, not four. I'll be okay."

Haruka kissed Sakara on her forehead. "Be good."

"That goes double for you," Sakara teased in response. She waited patiently until she heard the door shut.

Sarah Taylor: Looks like I've got my opening. I'll be at the shrine soon.

Kumiko Toya: Excellent! I'll see you here!

Sakara closed her computer and set off to write a quick note to her mother, excusing her absence as the want to go to swim. Knowing that her mother avoided pools like the plague (for reasons unknown to her), she knew it was safe enough to buy her at least two hours. She excitedly dressed in a frilly, floral skirt and a gray t-shirt, tying her hair up in her usual ponytail. Grabbing her purse and her silver flats, she excitedly left the hotel and ran her way to the temple, this time being conscious enough to not knock anyone over.

Sakara spied Kumiko first, her brilliant golden hair shining in the sunlight. Sakara was reminded once more that Kumiko's family seemed to be one of means, Kumiko being dressed in a high-end name brand tank top and skirt, a large Coach purse tucked under her arm. Sakara also spied Moriko, dressed just as casually as before in jean Bermuda shorts and a lime green tank top layered over a hot pink one. There was another girl there, this one with wavy light blue hair to her shoulders and bright blue eyes, dressed in a blue quarter sleeve shirt and jean cutoffs. It was this new girl who spied Sakara.

"Hello Sarah," she called out, Moriko and Kumiko turning around.

"Hey Sarah!" Kumiko echoed, running forward to hug the girl. "I'm glad you made it here. I was just about to text you to see where you were." Kumiko indicated to her iPhone before slipping it into her bag. Once more, Sakara felt envious.

"I'm Urawa Chikako," the bluenette said, extending her hand in greeting.

"Taylor Sakara," Sakara replied.

"Sakara?" Moriko and Kumiko echoed.

Sakara blushed. "I'm actually of 100% Japanese heritage. 'Sarah' is more like a nickname."

"And yet you were born in America? Where at?" Chikako asked.

"Florida," Sakara replied.

"Oh, I've been there! It was super hot, though. But I loved Disney World. Do you go there a lot?" Kumiko asked.

Sakara laughed. "Yes, Mom and I live close enough that we get discounted price entry, so we go a few times a year. The fun of it never wears off on you." She then turned to Moriko. "How have you been?" she asked in hesitant Japanese.

"Wow, your Japanese is getting good!" Moriko praised in surprise, although Sakara only caught part of it. "And I've been good."

"That's quite an improvement from earlier this week," Kumiko said.

Sakara laughed. "Well, my mom bought me Rosetta Stone."

Chikako nodded knowingly. "It really is a wonderful way to learn languages."

It was then that a sleek black limo pulled up, three young women exiting. The first two were girls who Sakara did not want to admit to having already met. She hoped that Hotaru would not spoil her cover. Instead, Sakara focused on the pink-haired girl, sensing that she had somehow met her before. Her hair was styled uniquely in two pointed buns ("sort of looks like bunny ears") with the rest flowing to her hips. Then she remembered: she had seen pictures of this girl when she was younger! What had her mother called her? Chibi-Usa? How strange it was to see her suddenly so much older.

"This is Usa-chan, Hotaru-chan, and Michiko-chan. Hotaru and Michiko are sisters. Well, um, adopted sisters," Kumiko introduced. "And this is Sakara. She's from America!"

"Hello," Usa-chan greeted brightly. Michiko echoed her greeting.

Michiko turned around and told the driver to pick them up there in a few hours. Sakara was surprised to see that no one was shocked that the three girls had showed up in a limo, although after having spied the fuss made over Michiko and her mother at the restaurant, Sakara knew it made sense. She briefly wondered what type of jobs their parents had, although she knew it was nothing compared to the royalty they were originally born as.

Usa-chan was dressed in a white sundress and white flats, looking dressed up and casual at the same time. Michiko was dressed in a navy blue dress, complete with black lace trim and quilted black flats. Hotaru was dressed in a pair of dark wash shorts and a flowing dark purple tank top.

Hotaru met Sakara's gaze warmly and waved. Sakara let out of sigh of relief, glad that her cover was not blown. She did not want to deal with the whole 'my mom was once your adoptive mom and friends with all of your moms and then she abandoned you all to have me' conversation. Too awkward for first meetings, she decided.

"Well, shall we get going?" Kumiko asked.

"Yeah, we had best get going before Kohaku-baka finds us here," Moriko said, rolling her eyes.

"Aw, c'mon you guys, we should give her another chance," Hotaru urged.

"Hotaru-chan, you're ridiculous! We've given her countless chances, and she's always failed. There's no changing that she's a total bitch," Kumiko insisted.

"Perhaps we should get moving," Chikako suggested.

Usa-chan nodded. "Yeah, I'm trying to avoid cage-cleaning duties today, so if Mama catches me here, I'm busted. Let's go."

Kumiko looped her arm with Sakara's, the rest of the group moving on. Sakara almost missed the sight of Kohaku standing at the top of the stairs in her miko uniform, an indiscernible expression on her face. Sakara felt sort of bad for leaving behind the girl, but no one else seemed to notice or care.

"So how are you liking Japan?" Chikako asked in English.

"It's been lovely so far. I really like it here," Sakara replied.

"How long are you going to stay?" Chikako asked.

"About three more weeks," Sakara replied.

Kumiko pouted. "Well, that won't do."

"What? Why?" Sakara asked.

"What if we get attached to you? It's not going to be fun having you so far away," Kumiko replied.

"I'm sure I can get my mom to agree to visit again next summer. In the meantime, we have Skype," Sakara suggested.

Kumiko beamed. "Good!"

After an hour of shopping, Sakara was beginning to realize how nice it was to be part of this group of girls. Despite the fact that they had known each other their whole lives and probably had a million inside jokes, they never once made Sakara feel out of place (well, except when they used Japanese she didn't know yet). She was having a blast as the two apparent fashionista's, Kumiko and Michiko, helped everyone pick out the best combinations of outfits while Moriko and Chikako spied the cutest boys for them all to giggle over. Sakara almost felt guilty for having as much fun as she was, knowing that her best friends at home would be hurt to hear she was replacing them so fast. But Sakara could not deny the pull to want to be with these girls, and she did not miss the fact that she seemed to slip into their group so easily.

Sakara was, however, awkward around Hotaru. Although the girl was pleasant to her, Sakara could not help but feel guilty for having altered Hotaru's life the way she had. She was the one who was supposed to be raised by Haruka, not Sakara. It made her want to beg forgiveness, although she knew that that would blow her cover, and probably not make a difference. After all, it wasn't Sakara's fault she had been born, and therefore not her fault that Hotaru had been robbed the family she had been promised. And yet, this did not stop Sakara from feeling guilty.

She did, however, feel quite curious about Usa-chan. She knew that this girl had traveled time more then once and that she would one day be a queen of the universe. Sakara wondered if she was aware of this, or if it was something that they just didn't discuss incase it messed with her head. Sakara wanted to ask Usa-chan if she or Hotaru were able to transform like she had, but knew that that would give away her cover as well. The questions burned on her tongue all day, Sakara having to distract herself constantly when the questions threatened to bubble out.

Instead, Sakara enjoyed her time as best she could. Kumiko was too nice and kept trying to buy her things, but Sakara was adamant that she would get caught if she brought anything home. Instead, Kumiko promised to keep it at her house until Sakara could get away with it at an easier time and bought stuff anyway. When Sakara protested, the others just laughed.

"There's no stopping Kumi-chan when she gets like this," Chikako explained. "Once, I was a just a bit short when trying to purchase a sun dress, so Kumiko offered to help me out. When we left the store, she had bought me three other dresses and two skirts, all without batting an eyelash."

"Don't her parents care how much she spends?" Sakara gasped.

"Minako-san hardly even glances at the credit card bill," Usa-chan chimed in. "Minako-san knows that Kumi-chan likes to buy her friends presents, so who is she to tell her to not be generous? That's a wonderful trait to encourage in your child."

"I guess that's true, but it's still awkward. We've only known each other for a week," Sakara said.

"Stop complaining! I like spending money on my friends, and you're my new friend, so I'm going to spend lots of you," Kumiko insisted. "Now go try these on!"

When Sakara finally got back to the apartment, she was in a great mood. Kumiko had spent way too much on her and she had gotten to bond with all the girls. Her communication with Moriko was still a bit limited, but they still managed to understand each other. Sakara had promised to see them all the next day for lunch.

"Busted," Haruka said the moment Sakara walked into the room.

Good feeling instantly gone.

"What are you talking about?" Sakara asked, trying to play it cool.

"All your bathing suits are in your drawers, and your hair isn't even wet. Where did you go?" Haruka asked, her no-nonsense face on.

Sakara grimaced. Crap, she knew there was something she forgot to do!

"I just went for a walk, Mom," Sakara said. Well, at least it was a half-truth since she _did _do a lot of walking.

"Do not lie to me," Haruka said in a threatening tone. She walked to stand right in front of her daughter, navy boring hard into navy. "I told you to not see them ever again."

"I want to be their friends. Who doesn't want a pen pal who lives on the other side of the world?" Sakara replied, still attempting to keep her cool.

"Sakara, you know what I mean!" Haruka said.

"You can't stop me! I want to be their friend, and they want to be mine! I can feel it in my soul that I belong with them," Sakara insisted, throwing away her cover and facing the truth.

"You can't!" Haruka snapped.

"Yes I can!" Sakara snapped back.

"I did not raise my daughter to disobey me," Haruka said, shaking her head.

"No, you just raised her on lies," Sakara said with a glare of her own, crossing her arms in defiance.

"Sakara!" Haruka yelled. "You still stop with this attitude and do as I say! You will not go see those girls ever again!"

"Why not? Because you're still too chicken shit to face your ex lover? Get over it, Mom! Put your big girl panties on and just go face it! Then we can all be done with this crap and I can be friends with the people who were meant to be my friends!"

"You weren't ever supposed to be born, so how can you know what you were meant for!"

The silence that followed was filled with enough electricity to power Tokyo. It was only when Sakara realized that her tears would keep coming did she run into her bedroom and slam the door. Consumed with guilt, Haruka followed after her.

"Sakara."

"Go away!"

"I'm sorry, you know I didn't mean it."

"I said go away! I do not want to speak to you!"

"Sakara, please, open the door," Haruka pleaded, feeling her own tears rise.

She got no reply except for the sounds of her daughter sobbing into her pillow from the other side of the door.

Haruka went into her own room and simply dropped to the floor. Why had she said that? She knew that she had damaged Sakara, maybe even beyond repair. They had always treated the circumstances of Sakara's birth with extreme caution, and now she had just thrown all of that away and threw into her daughter's face that she was a mistake, one thought away from an abortion. Haruka hated herself.

Sakara was right and she knew it; she was being chicken shit. Why couldn't she just face Michiru and tell her the truth? Was her a senshi or wasn't she? How could she serve the princess in the future, protect her from the dangers that they knew they were to face, if she couldn't do this?

But where should she do it? Not at the apartment, that would be too awkward. Besides, who was to say that Michiru still lived in their old apartment? Perhaps, with the birth of her own daughter and having to raise Hotaru, she had moved somewhere else? Although Hotaru did make it sound like they were still there, Haruka realized. Still, Haruka decided that the apartment was a no. The Crown? While it was neutral territory, it was still too familiar, too awkward. There were too many memories there, too many happy and sad hours spent with the senshi. Finally, Haruka decided on the perfect spot: the park! It was private enough that they would be able to talk freely, but public enough that neither would want to cause a scene. It was familiar, but there weren't many intimate memories attached to it, nothing more then mere fleeting moments. Yes, this would be the place.

But how? Should she ask Hotaru or Setsuna to help? No, Haruka frowned. It wouldn't be fair to get them thrown in the middle, especially if something went sour. A note then. She would go to the apartment, slide a note under the door, and then hope for the best. While she admitted that this was still a sort of cowards way out, she was sure she was making up for it by the amount of danger involved in such an act; after all, she had no idea what anyone's schedule was, so there was a definite possibility that she would run into someone.

Suddenly, Haruka could feel the spark of her old self turn on instantly. She wasn't going to be a coward anymore. She was finally going to face Michiru and get this over with, and she while she would accept any outcome, she knew that she would fight. She would fight for Michiru to understand, to possibly forgive to, to maybe even love her again.

With a smile, Haruka set off to figure out exactly what the note would say.

The next day, Sakara got dressed, fed her cats and herself, and left. Had Haruka not heard the door slam, she never would have known Sakara was even up. Haruka frowned, her heartsick feeling creeping up on her once more. She had to figure out a way to apologize to Sakara, what she had done was beyond terrible. With a sigh, Haruka knew that she could only handle one woman at a time.

Sakara hailed a cab and read off the address as best she could, hoping her accent was at least passable. She rode in silence, still bristling with anger at her mother but excited for the day. Usa-chan had invited the girls over to have lunch and swim in their pool. Sakara simply could not wait to see what kind of house the future ruling family of the universe lived it. Sakara giggled, her giddy feeling rapidly replacing her anger as they got closer. It was like she was visiting a celebrity's house, although none of the neighbors knew that they were living next to a family of celebrities of such high caliber. She watched as the bustling urbanite sites of Tokyo flew by, and the rich and classy district loomed ahead. Humungous houses with perfectly manicured lawns and expensive cars were soon surrounding Sakara, letting her know exactly what type of life the family lead.

When they pulled up to the house, Sakara could see that Kumiko was already there with Hotaru and Michiko. Sakara paid the driver and ran over to meet them.

"You made it!" Kumiko cheered excitedly. "We just got here."

"What the heck do her parents do?" Sakara asked, gaping up at the mansion in front of her. Although she came from a pretty nice neighborhood and she'd seen big houses many times, but this one took the cake. It was a white and beige two-story vision, dotted happily with lace curtains in the windows and colorful flowerboxes under the lower level windows, a bay window off to one side of the house, a white wrap-around porch with tasteful furniture welcoming visitors. The lawn was perfectly green, not a leaf out of place on the shrubs, not a single weed between the perfectly laid stones beneath their feet.

"Well, her dad is this like a world-renowned surgeon. He developed some sort of method for helping reduce the incision without needing a robot or something like that. I dunno, ask Chikako-chan, she'd know. Anyway, he gets paid major bucks. I guess he really wants to be like Chikako's mom and have his own little private practice and help out needy families and stuff like that, but, like, the medical community simply won't allow it because he's like, amazing. As for her mom, she breeds top-rate pet rabbits for celebrities and stuff and refuses to sell to anyone who has any intentions of killing the rabbits for fur or food. Once, when she was just starting, she found out through the grapevine that some super famous German actress was going to skin the rabbit for some lining for her gloves, so she flew straight to Germany and took the rabbit right back! It was so shocking that it made headlines in _several _countries and totally helped launched the business. On the side, she has a little charity that helps needy families pay their medical bills. She's so amazing," Kumiko rattled off excitedly.

Michiko and Hotaru laughed.

"Sorry, she tends to let her mouth run away with her," Michiko laughed.

"It's alright, I have a friend just like her at home," Sakara replied with a warm smile. She made a mental note to make sure to message Melissa when she got home.

Chikako and Moriko arrived at last and the girls went up to the house.

"Hello girls! It's been too long!" gushed the beautiful blonde who answered the door. Sakara smiled, knowing that this was the Usagi that her mother spoke so fondly of. Sakara was pleased to see that although the woman was an adult, she still sported the unique and cute hairstyle Sakara had seen in all the pictures.

"Who is this?" Usagi asked.

"This is Sakara, our new friend from America," Hotaru introduced.

Usagi beamed and hugged Sakara. "Hello Sakara, welcome to our home!"

Sakara was shocked at first, but soon found that Usagi's warmth was simply too infectious and hugged her back. "Thank you so much, Chiba-san. Your home is gorgeous."

Usagi giggled happily. "Thank you dear." She smiled up at the other girls. "Usa-chan is out back with Chibi-chan. Please mind the rabbits, they're out playing right now!"

"Minna!" Usa-chan exclaimed as the girls came out of the house. She shot up from her pool-side lawn chair and ran to meet her friends. She was dressed in a neon green bikini with a hot pink wrap tied around her waist. "I'm so glad you're all finally here! I was getting super bored. Now hurry and get changed so we can have some fun! I had Mama order us up some super yummy food, so we all need to work up a good appetite."

"Can I play too?" a sweet voice cooed.

The girls turned to see a little girl with hair mimicking her sisters except times two running out of the house. She was already dressed in a pink polka-dot bathing suit with a little skirt around the bottom. Her big blue eyes were so wide and hopeful, they all knew that had no other choice.

"Of course, Chibi-chan," Usa-chan sighed with a smile at her little sister. "I don't suppose either of you brought yours?" she asked, looking at Chikako and Kumiko. They both gave knowing shakes of their heads. Usa-chan sighed again. "Oh well, let's just make sure we don't exclude her too much. You know how much she likes to tattle."

"Chibi-chan?" Sakara whispered to Hotaru. She was hoping she wasn't mishearing the name, because she thought it sounded like the little girl was named Small.

"Her name is Kousagi, but her family all calls her Chibi-chan," Hotaru replied. Sakara's lips formed an 'O' of understanding.

"Well ladies, don't make me wait forever! Go get changed!" Usa-chan said, pointing to the little stylish hut by the pool. The girls went into their individual changing rooms.

"Ugh, Moriko-chan, you're such a show-off!" Usa-chan scoffed when the girls were finally all assembled.

Moriko had just come out of her dressing room and was still adjusting her tiny hot pink bikini top. Each girl immediately looked down at her own chest, Sakara in particular frowning at her lack of filling for her top. Moriko just rolled her hazel eyes.

"Oh stop complaining. You have no idea what the back pain is like," Moriko replied.

Everyone ignored her, feeling no sympathy.

"Well, there's no sense in waiting it out!" Usa-chan announced. She walked to the edge of the deep end of their in-ground pool. Immediately, all the other girls filled in around her. "Chibi-chan, come take my hand honey." Kousagi excitedly walked to take hold of her sister's hand. "One. Two. Three!"

"Someone pass the chips, please!" Chikako cooed, reaching out her hand expectantly.

Michiko relinquished her hold on the chips. "It is _so_ beautiful out today. They said it was a 20% chance of rain; I'm glad they were wrong." She smirked and leaned back, basking in the sunlight.

"I just looked up the weather in London for Thursday! It will be a bit chillier, but still not a cloud in the sky. Perfect for shopping all day!" Kumiko chirped happily. She then blushed and immediately chewed on her lip. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"London?" Sakara repeated as she nibbled on her sandwich.

All the girls, with the exception of Chikako and Moriko, shot Kumiko annoyed glances.

"Um, yeah, we're leaving Thursday to go to London with my mom. She's finally thinking of returning to international film so she's going to London to meet with the producers, and I love London so much because there's lots of shopping, and I pretty much never go anywhere without my entourage of girls, and I'd love it if all my girls could go but Chikako and Moriko can't and I didn't know you when the trip was planned or else I totally would have invited you and I was going to try to avoid mentioning it but I guess I messed up, huh?" Kumiko rambled nervously, finally slowing down at the end. For Sakara's sake, she'd done this in English.

"I have cram school," Chikako explained.

Moriko frowned. "Money issue."

"Even though I'd totally pay for her," Kumiko said.

Moriko sighed. "I will not spend our friendship being in debt to you!"

"I'd never ask you to pay me back! You're my friend, Mori-chan, I want to do nice things for you!" Kumiko pleaded.

"Anyway, we will only be gone for a few days," Michiko cut in.

"I get to go too!" Kousagi announced proudly.

"Someone has to entertain Sachiko," Usa-chan said.

"That sounds like a great trip. I'm sure you'll all have lots of fun," Sakara said brightly.

"You can hang out with us, if you'd like. I'll help you with your Japanese," Chikako offered.

Sakara smiled. "Thanks, I'd like that."

"Hey there girls," a male voice greeted.

Sakara turned and blushed immediately. The man who was walking out of the house was incredibly handsome in that George-Clooney-older-man kind of way, and she knew him instantly to be Mamoru, or the future King Endymion as her mother had told her.

"Hi Daddy!" Usa-chan and Kousagi greeted in happy unison, leaping up from their seats to embrace their father.

"How was work?" Usa-chan asked, noting Mamoru's ragged expression.

"Long. I was hoping to take a dip in the hot tub and relax with your mom, but I can see that the backyard is occupied." He ignored his daughter's twin looks of disgust. "Who is this?"

"This is our new friend, Sakara!" Usa-chan introduced.

"Hello," Sakara waved.

Mamoru returned the wave, however slower it was. He couldn't help but feel something familiar about her. "I will let you girls get back to whatever you were doing. Don't forget sunscreen," he added just before going inside.

Mamoru glanced back outside, staring at Sakara. There was definitely something about her. He sought out a certain black cat lounging on the back of the couch.

"Luna, are you awake?" Mamoru asked.

Luna stirred and looked up lazily at Mamoru. "Mrow?"

"Luna, have you seen the girls?" Mamoru asked.

"Kousagi and Chibi-Usa?" Luna asked.

"No, all the girls," Mamoru explained.

"I was upstairs with Diana earlier, I only just came down here," Luna replied. "Why?"

"They've made a new friend," Mamoru informed her.

Luna just blinked. "Mamoru-san, I regard you very highly, but why did you wake me up from my nap to tell me that? The girls make lots of friends, they're very popular."

Mamoru sighed. "Luna, there is something about her. Please, go have a look and let me know what you think."

Usagi came into the room, having heard the exchange. "What's going on?"

"Usako, didn't you think there was something strange about the new girl?" Mamoru asked.

Usagi thought for a moment then shrugged. "I don't know, I didn't think so. But if you think you feel something, maybe we should look into her?"

"That's what I was trying to get Luna to do," Mamoru replied, gesturing to the still-lounging cat.

"Alright, alright, I'll go," Luna grumbled.

"Careful, Luna, you're starting to sound like me when I was fourteen!" Usagi cooed teasingly.

Luna just glared. "I will be back in a moment."

"What's her deal?" Mamoru asked.

"What else? She's fighting with Artemis, so he's sleeping at Mina's," Usagi replied with a shrug.

Luna made her way out the cat door and to the table.

"Hey Luna!" the girls all greeted happily when Luna jumped on the table. She put on her cat show, meowing and purring happily as the girls greeted her.

Luna quickly located the new girl in question. It hardly took her a moment to realize what she was seeing. Quickly, she jumped off the table and back into the house.

"Hmm, what's with her I wonder?" Usa-chan muttered, staring after the black cat curiously. She shrugged. "Oh well! Someone please pass the sandwiches? I'm starving over here!"

Luna ran to Mamoru and Usagi, eyes wide.

"What is it?" Usagi asked, her body tensing automatically.

"You will never believe who she is."

* * *

-End of Chapter!

Not a very good cliffhanger, I know, but guess what the good news is? I already have the next chapter done, and part of the chapter after that! I will shamefully admit that this was done ooooooh, forever ago, and that I honestly just go so wrapped up in the end of my college career and trying to find a job and all that fun stuff that updating really slipped away from me. But I am really hoping to get back into the swing of things with this story because I love it so much and I'd love to get it done soon! Please review, I love all of your support and I always welcome new ideas

-Serenity


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